The Pink Pearls- Part 3

Asha approaches Ajit’s car with 2 cups of steaming coffee. Ajit brightly smiles at the prospects of some fuel to his blood and thanks Asha. Maya however is not quite sure if the coffee is for her. She just keeps looking at her fingers.

“This coffee is for you. I am not sure how you take your coffee but this dabha doesn’t have cream anyway!” laughs Asha.

“Thank you”, Maya gingery accepts the cup.

As she was taking the cup, Asha notices some burn marks on Maya’s palm. She keeps her mouth shut for it really is not her business.

“They are still serving dinner Ajit. If you want breakfast, we should wait for another 1 hour it seems” Asha says.

“No, 1 hour is too long. Lets just eat a very late dinner and get going”.

“What do you want to eat then? They have Biryani!” grins Asha.

“Of course they serve Biryani for you! What else do they have?”

“They have a veg-plate and non-veg plate, that’s all”

Ajit turns to Maya, “What would you like to have? Not that there is much of a choice”

Not used to being given a choice, Maya blushes not knowing what to say.

As if guessing what is going on through Maya’s mind, Ajit says, “Asha, we both will have non-veg plates. And thank you for doing this”.

“Any time buddy” walks off Asha.

As the friends gather around the car with their plates, one by one, they start to notice how exceptionally beautiful Maya is. With a simple salwar kameez, which almost covers neck to toe and a simple string of pink pearls, Maya was looking like an Angle in the moon light.

Only Aruna and Asha noticed how attentive Ajit was towards Maya and flinch. They cannot bear to see their friend hurt. Maya is their ‘prisoner’ who has to return when all is set and done. Asha shares with Aruna what she had seen on Maya’s palms. Both of them exchange worried glances.

On the other hand Ajit cannot keep his attention on anything other than on Maya. Something in her is so worrying. She flinches even to gulp water. Is she OK? Perhaps she has fever and she is not supposed to have non-veg? Perhaps she is cold in cotton cloths? Perhaps he should offer his coat? Perhaps he should stop caring so much. She is their prisoner and nothing more than that.

After they finished dinner/breakfast, they set on road again; this time Aruna was behind the wheel with Tarun by his side and Ajit and Maya behind. Aruna was surprised that Ajit had removed Maya’s blinds. This was the first time she had seen him…slacking off, if she can give one word for it. But she hoped to God that Ajit is not falling in love with the beauty that is beside him. She wished Asha was in the same car. A quick look at her the friends would convey volumes of conversation.

In the car which is following theirs, Asha was thinking exactly the same.

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It was 7:00 AM. Seth couldn’t go to Maya’s room that night because he had come across his ex-wife who insisted on spending time with him. With her on his side, he couldn’t have dreamt to go To Maya’s room. He would go first thing after shower. He already missed her.

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Maya has never seen a beach as she never did she step out of Hyderabad. She had only read in books about how beautiful beaches are. She was genuinely awed for the first time in her life. She knew that in Kerala there are lots of coconut trees but nothing had prepared for the beautiful Kovalam.

Suddenly she was filled with dread. Seth must be looking for her since long time. She wonders what is going on back in Hyderabad.

As she was finishing her thoughts Ajit says to Maya, “We are going to stay here for 3 days. Then we will be boarding a ship leaving to Kanya Kumari and from there, we will be heading to Canada”.

Aruna and Tarun are completely shocked by this revelation. They had never EVER told their prisoners their future plans. This confirmed Aruna’s suspicion that something is going on in Ajits mind. And she can’t deny the fact that he is refusing to meet Arunas eyes, no matter how hard she tried.  This further proves her point.

At no point the friends’ attention was completely diverted, should Maya attempt escape.

The Pink Pearls- Part 2

You can find Part 1 here.

I have written a big story this time but I didnt go to work :( and I saved the copy there :(. Tomorrow, I will upload the part 3 for sure :)

All was going exceptionally well. Ajit is quite satisfied that there was no one in the second floor, the floor where Seths daughter is kept. It is rumored that Seth would do absolutely anything for her. It’s a shame that she is always hidden inside with even private tutoring.

“Try the door please while I watch for activity” said Ajit to Tarun.

“It’s open”

“That’s a surprise considering it’s the daughter’s room” Ajit said.

The moment they opened the door, they were invited into a dark, cold room. Immediately the 3 friend put on their night vision goggles.

When they couldn’t see any moment and just when they were thinking they were in the wrong room, Ajit spotted some moment under the bed.

In less than 2 seconds, he yanked her out of the bed. Before Tarun could close Maya’s mouth, the 3 friends we taken by surprise for the second time that night.

Maya didn’t utter a sound. She just kept staring at them and them at her.

“We are here to take you. If you make a sound, trust me, I am going to blow your mind. I don’t want to use force. So, quick, come with us” Asha said.

As the friends filed away Maya in their Mercedes convertible, another of the same car pulled put at the same time near the front entrance. Ajit covered Maya’s eyes with a soft cloth and leaned back in his seat while zooming towards Kerala.

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Maya couldn’t believe her good fortune. At least for tonight she had some respite from the monster. Even if this current situation means form-the-pan-to-the-fire, she was still thankful to God that at least for sometime she will be OK. They were taking her to Kerala! She has never been outside Hyderabad all her life and this sounded too good to be true. And what’s up with that tall mans eyes? She just couldn’t understand if she saw pity or cruelty in them. She sincerely hoped that she wouldn’t be raped all over again tonight.

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Ajit was not prepared to see the woman whom he just met. Apart from being an Angelic beauty, she had such a relived look on her face. This was the first time they came across someone who has not said a boo when they were kidnapping.

Those beautiful eyes and simple attire almost made her look like someone from a fairy tale. And she wasn’t even wearing anything extra ordinary. She just had a simple black salwar kameez and a pearl necklace on.

Ajit quickly caught himself that for the first time in his life, he has a crush on someone.

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Six hours into the journey Aruna started complaining that she is starved and that its almost 5 AM. They pulled over to a dabha; Tarun, Aruna, Asha and Vikram file out to the dabha. Ajit is in the car alone with Maya.

“Would you want me to remove your blinds so that you are more comfortable”, Ajit almost whispers.

Not knowing if the kind voice was addressing her or not, Maya just keeps her head down, just like it was 6 hours ago.

“I am referring to you lady”, this time Ajit raises his voice which sends Maya to trembling.

“Yes. Please, thank you” responds Maya only seconds away from crying.

“Hey, its OK, I didn’t mean to scare you”

“Thank you”

As Ajit gently unfolds her blinds, he is caught completely off guard at the dazzling brown eyes.

The Pink Pearls

I have been meaning to write a short story for quite some time; not that I am a writer or something but something to do on the days you dont feel sleepy :) here it is...Sorry, if you find it boring.

Maya

There is a party going on downstairs. Maya, 23 year old Maya, peeps down through the blinds in to the back yard where everything was alive. She quickly closes the blinds for the fear that he would catch her watching down. The party was thrown in honor of her adopted fathers 50th birthday. He is the famous business man of the state, referred to as Seth. As usual she is not allowed in the party.

When ever he drinks (which is almost everyday), Maya finds herself hiding under the bed. As routine demanded, Maya crawled under the bed, hoping despite hope that somehow darkness would shield her. Just as she was closing her eyes, the door opens and she was yanked out with a rough hand. Maya hears herself silently scream, a scream which only she can hear.

Ajit

For as long as he can remember, Ajit and his 4 friends are like Robin Hoods of India. But there is not much of local support because they never settled down. They are mostly on road. Last night they have checked into the beautiful, yet intimate Taj Banjara suite.

“Ajit, coffee is ready da and so is the breakfast. Tarun is still in the shower but Aruna and Kiran are waiting at the table”, Asha said with a million dollar smile.

“Asha, you are a sweetheart! If Tarun hadn’t already swept you off your feet, I would have stood a chance with you” Ajit flashed his equally-million-dollar-smile.

“Oh yeah! That I am sure! Now please have your coffee before it gets cold”.

As Ajit approached the dining table he noticed that the other set of love birds, Kiran and Aruna are arguing. No surprises there.

“You two I tell ya! When will you stop arguing like enemies and start developing a few boy friend-girl friend traits?” Ajit exclaimed.

As Aruna is setting the table, just the way Kiran liked it, she said, “Ajit, listen to him! He says Chinese fried rice is better and I countered that nothing can beat our Hyderabadi Biryani. Whose side are you on?”

Ajit, while trying to smother his chuckle said, “I am always on your side Aruna” and quickly receives a jab in his ribs from Kiran.

Tarun walks through the door singing, “How do I look”?

All the four friends respond together, “Like Dulhe Raja”. He was not looking like dulhe Raja. Far from it. If they tell the truth he is going to run back to change. So, it’s better to lie and save time.

As the friends slowly finish their breakfast, calm spread over the table. A Calm before the Storm perhaps is appropriate here.

Ajit and friends got into the ‘action-mode’. Having gone through the preliminaries of the plan 100 times by now, he wanted to make sure he goes through it one last time before they set out.

“Seth is going to be busy entertaining the guests between 10:00 and mid night as that is the cocktail hour. I will drive our Mercedes and with the looks of it, the watchman would allow us inside with no questions” Ajit said.

Kiran picks up from there, “Aruna and I will step out of the car with the flowers and proceed towards Seth. With the sophisticated looks of us, he sure is going to try to recollect who we were”

“Asha, you and me will proceed towards the parking lot from where we will take the back entrance to the second floor of the building” finishes Tarun.

“The lock remover is with me and each of you has spare ones too along with the gun. We three will open the girls lock so silently that she would not suspect that anyone ever entered” Ajit said and continued,

“The ear piece is charged and is sterile. Should there be a problem downstairs or even a servant is on his way up, Aruna and Kiran would first try to keep him occupied. If not successful, just say, ‘this party is so good’. We will immediately abandon everything we are doing and head downstairs”.

“Should anyone find us, we innocently say we got lost trying to locate the bathroom”.

“All set then”! The friends simultaneously say and burst into laughter. Once you start living together for long time, you start to think almost alike.

Ajit said, “The Seth is going to pay every penny he evaded from Income Tax department” and finished his coffee.

Seth

The party which he is throwing for everyone is more to please them than to please him. Over the years, he had earned more than 10 generations put together can spend.

The cream of Hyderabad had gathered in his palace. If only he can bring Maya down to show all this to her. Perhaps then she will realize what kind of a man he is and maybe she will cooperate for once.

But that is not an option. Maya is his property and he will not let anyone even talk to her. He wanted her so badly right now that he sat down, lest someone see how hard he is.

As he was sipping his single malt, he notices a beautiful woman with a man coming towards him. Instantly his mind is on high alert. They are not his acquaintance. If they were, he would have remembered that sexy lady. Either someone brought a guest or practically his enemy-in-disguise. He should ask the security to be conscious next time not to let uninvited guests to enter.

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To be continued…

Bugga-A super small village

Ducked in the interior parts of Andhra  Pradesh (Kharimnagar dist) is a super small village called Bugga. I think we cant even call that a village because all it has is a small temple and literally 5 huts. The literal translation of the word Bugga is bubble.There is another small town with the same name in Khammam dist but I am not talking about the same Bugga.

 Bugga is locally famous for a very old Lord Shiva's temple. When we (husband and I) went to visit my parents last summer, they took us to the Bugga for a darshan and small picnic there. Since it was summer, most of the leaves are dry. Apparently it can get quite scary in rainy and winter seasons.
As we approached Bugga, the first thought which came to me was "wow, there are monkeys".
There was another family who were just leaving when we arrived. So we pretty much had the entire place for ourselves. The pujari/gurukkul/priest was someone in mid-40's. Apparently the temple was being maintained by his family since many generations. When I asked him how old the actual Shiva-lingam in the temple was, he only said its too old. He didn't have any specific year. Now, I would really appreciate if anyone knows of how old the shiva lingam is.
Also, its supposed to be Swayambhoo, which means, the lingam formed by itself and is not man made.

One of the intriguing things about this temple is the below water tank. All you see here is a small streak of water which is coming from the ground below in all seasons. There is no river/lake/sea nearby. It just comes from the ground and how its coming is a big mystery. Well, its a mystery only to me but even to a few specialist who have done elaborate research but found nothing!

This streak of water flows down to the little pond. Since its a very small streak, its just enough for the pujari to clean the temple, clean the Shiva lingam and also to keep water above the lingam so that it trickles down in drops.
Another strange thing is that the water has a sweet fragrance, no kidding!

Apparently a few years ago, some one funded the temple to be painted and new flooring to be done. If you ever get a chance to visit Kharimnagar dist in AP, I suggest you go there. It was an awesome experience.

My mom and my aunt had made Biryani, chicken, raita and some dessert for all of us. That reminds me, its the only temple I know of (with the exception of Kali) which actually allows its devotees to have non-veg, out side the premises of temple. We played cards, took pictures and made life time memories.

What if Ekalavya Said No?

I was quite surprised when I was going through Times of India online paper this morning about Ekalavya.

Dronacharya's act was shameful, says SC - The Times of India

Apparently, Supreme court has lashed out on Dronacharya's (Drona) act as shameful for asking the thumb of Ekalavya as Guru Dakhsina.
How the supreme court has time for this with so many pending cases is beyond me and besides the point. Before I rush to defend Drona's act, let me explain the story of Ekalavya in short.

Ekalavya was the young prince of Nishada tribes. He used to live near the ashram where Drona was teaching various arts to Pandavas. Ekalavya wants to join the class but was refused by Drona because Ekalavya belonged to lower caste.

Not to be put off, the brave Ekalavya, makes an idol of Drona in a jungle and teaches himself the art of archery. He learns so much so that his skills are far more superior to Arjuna, Drona's best student.

One day while Ekalavya was practicing archery in the jungle a dog starts to bark relentlessly. Ekalavya shoots arrows at it in such a way that the dogs mouth is filled with arrows but the dog is unharmed.

Seeing the dog like that, pandavas go in search of who had done such a great art. Ekalavya then says that Drona was the teacher.
Then, Drona asks for the thumb of Ekalavya as guru dhakshina so that Arjuna is still the best when it comes to archery. Ekalavya complies.
This is the story.

many people criticize Drona for doing this and many people commend the dedication Ekalavya had to sweetly comply with guru's wish.

Now, I personally think that Drona was not wrong in asking for thumb (in other words, punishing him professionally). First of all in the olden days caste system was followed. Every caste people had their business. Like Khatriyas protect the country, Brahmans perform puja's etc etc. So, we cannot blame Drona for not taking in Ekalavya.

Secondly, what exactly was Ekalavya trying to prove when he made an idol out of Drona? I mean, it was clear that Drona didnt want to teach him. So, Ekalavya should have respected that and should not have made that idol.
Also, when Pandavas ask who his teacher was...he says it was Drona. Why? This could have potentially gotten Drona killed if Pandavas actually believed Ekalavya. Also, its unethical to say he was Drona's pupil when he was not.

You can't teach yourself quantum mechanics by reading Feynman's book and then claim that you learnt quantum mechanics from Feynman himself.

For that reason alone, Ekalavya had deceived Drona and Drona had a right to ask him the thumb.

Also, what if Ekalavya said 'No' for giving the thumb?

Then, he would have gotten killed. Perhaps he stood a chance fighting Arjuna alone but not Drona and Arjuna together. In order to save his own life, he gracefully let his thumb go.

I am not saying this is what has happened but it a possibility that this is what was going on in Ekalavya's mind.

What say everyone?