Every great story has great characters – and in my life, one such, is my elder brother. I could trace many of the parts of who I am to one of the instances where he inspired me through his words or actions.
In my childhood, when we would play game from chess to cards, he instilled in me the importance of always thinking and doing something different from what anybody would be doing. We would use science – we thought and told we were using great scientific truths (funny now as they were nothing scientific and just common sense) – every time to complete our secret missions. It’s this impulse and endeavour at the moment that has always stayed in my memory. In spite of anything happened, he would make sure to come visit and get together during holidays (he is not my ‘own’ brother – we dont live together) and would discuss everything – I mean everything! From whatever thing that we have feel passionate about. It is when I realised the importance having a meaning conversation with other people. I realised in those discussions that there are so many ways to see the world.
Many years have passed and we have all gone our ways. Everyone have been now busy with their thing. Lately after a long time, he came to visit my University and stayed together in hostel. We were back in that high-spirited-discussions-and-actions mood. He had developed a passion for nature and wildlife, where he says he always had. He aspires to do something for the nature and so for the world at large. He talked about his future plans how he would like to many build a forest (after seeing and getting inspired from some TED video), join the tourism business, and protect many agricultural species that are depleting from the planet. Once again, he did not fail to inspire me. How does he do that! I happily participated in his and promised to share his mission, which I would anytime. I every day when see someone in need or probably needing inspiration or a gentle push in his life, I make sure to impart some of it that I have received from all the people that have influenced me – by large parts from my brother. I would never be thankful enough for all they have done.
His eyes were pink, heart melting, afterall it was the big day for the girl of his dreams as she was getting ready for her wedding the same night. He stood behind the curtains to see her before going away from his memories forever. She saw him too in her mirror, but could not gather enough courage to turn around and make an eye contact to ask him, why he could not stand up for her at the time when she needed him the most…
Both knew in their hearts that life wouldn’t end without each other. Both of them were very sane human beings so none will commit suicide even if they part. But they also knew that it will just be a normal life. Nothing like the fairytale they had always wished for their future. It will be a life, less than than death, a plain ordinary life.
Sitting on a beautiful chair, the bride to be continued to adore her hair, her hands, her lips, one by one and her lover maintained his distant glance at her all this while. She wore a beautiful red lehnga and a gorgeous cream dupatta. Added the darkest shade of black kajal to compliment her big brown eyes. Seductive red lipstick and and golden highlights completed her bridal look.
Just after finishing her makeup she looked into the mirror, but before herself she looked at Armaan looking at her with mouth wide open. So she didn’t bother to look at herself. She judged her look by her lovers reaction. Both were equally burning in an inextinguishable flame of silent remorse. For her the regret was choosing the wrong man and for him it perhaps was to let her go like this. But nothing could be done now, when things have gone too far. She rose up from her chair and proceeded to the wedding escorted by all her family and friends.
She dressed herself like a femme fatale not for her husband but for her lover. Not to get anyone’s attention but to kill those eyes who were attending her all this while. She was successful in her mission and not finding him anywhere again knew he couldn’t bear it any longer. Now happy at her victory and tortured by his memories she sat against the pit of fire and gave her seven promises to the new man in her life. He too must be having some charm, but she wasn’t prepared to acknowledge that. Her mind was still running behind a coward, who left her months back. Her thoughts were still painted by his colours. She was falling weak on her knees also aware of the fact that since she had decided to move on so there was no going back available to her any longer. At the end fate has had her way and again defeated the goddess of love by making the two lovers unhappy.
It was saddest moment for this girl, whereas people often quoted it to be the happiest moment of a bride’s life. At this moment two lovers parted for good. At the same moment a thousand memories burned with the holy flame. And this very moment an innocent girl’s heart shattered like numbered broken pieces of a glass. How could she not cry at the painful hour of dying dreams?
She wanted to cry, but her makeup was much costlier than her feelings for a lost relationship. She hid her sorrow behind her beautiful smile. She didn’t wanted to waste a single second of her life for a person who has given her up to perhaps a far better stranger. Yes! She got happily engaged that day to a person who will be there for her but the only irony will be that she will suffer the same fate which many forlorn lovers suffer when it’s all over.
Then something crossed her mind, and she came to realise her surroundings. The bubble of imagination surrounding her head finally blasted and she as if out of a nightmare lifted herself up. She knew past is gone and future is unseen. So the only option left was to enjoy the moment. Afterall it was her wedding. That day she laughed a lot, half to cover up her sadness and partly to let her spirit know she owns herself. Her husband watched her happy face from behind his sehra and smiled to see the real beauty of his future wife.
The ceremonies for the night ended cheerfully without any snag. And it was time for the bride to leave her parent’s home to start a new life. With a smile on her adorable little face she sat inside the car with her husband. He off her a handkerchief to wipe her tears off her face. As she held it in her hands she was taken aback by shock. She rubbed her eyes and looked again at the piece of cloth to check if her vision is not decieving her but it was not. Sameera turned her face towards her husband and what she saw then was the epitome of dream come true. The man she was sitting with in the car, the man she married the previous night, the man who was staring her while she was dressing herself was none other than her long time lover Arman.
It took her almost five more minutes to believe that she has really married the prince charming of her dreams. Out of pure joy she cried wrapping her lover in a warm embrace. She thought they have lost each other forever but goddess of love won again by playing her tricks brilliantly.
There they renewed those seven promises on the back seat of their car as per their memory. And promised each other to never let go, no matter how difficult the situations are. This is we say love always finds a way. And this should be the way of the world if we want to live happily ever after.
It was the time of all festivities and everyone was celebrating.. When suddenly my aunt cried loudly. Then the music was lowered and everyone rushed to the poor lady to ask what’s ailing her. She told everyone that her little son aged 2 years was standing right next to her, watching us dance, only a few minutes back but now he was gone.
Then quickly a search mission was executed. Elders of the house rushed in every direction looking for the boy. Women of the house started searching every possible corner of our home. Aunt was constantly crying and we were try to hold the other kids in place so that noone else goes missing in the heat of the moment. Our family was searching every neighbors house for the kid like a local police, only difference was that a police would not interrogate without a search warrant. Only 15 more minutes passed like this and the whole locality came to know about our younger cousin brother. These are the perks of staying in a joint family and that too in India.
Uncle called from a nearby bus stand to inform that he isnt even there. And our grandfather was at a mall when he called to tell he is getting announcements done over there.
Our neighbors too came to console. One of them scared my aunt saying it could be acase of witch craft and another suggested the possibility of child theft. Listening to their horrible speculations we had to escort them home by making highly innovative excuses. Atmosphere of my home was getting so tensed that the news reached even to the most distant relatives living across the borders. It was wierd when even they started consoling over phone.
Then my another cousin arrived home in his car which he parked at a distance . Watching everyone restless and anxious he walked out and asked the reason. Being informed what has happened, he made a really grave face and went back to his car. I followed him thinking he would like me to join him in the search. But he was hiding something.
When I reached near his blue baleno, I was taken by surprise when I finally found out that my seemingly lost brother was calmly sleeping at the back seet of his car. We both knew about his whereabouts but if we told others they would have certainly beaten us up for creating all the tension. And none of us wanted to face the sudden rage of the family. So we concocted a plan, that we will make up a story that the child was found playing in a neighborhood playground and we brought him back safely.
My brother and I informed everyone that our little brother is safe with us and we are bringing him home. After reaching home I went upstairs to put the sleeping child back in to the bed. Everyone was happy and appreciated our apparent successful resque. We even got thousand bucks each as a reward from our aunt.
To this day I know we are guilty of not telling the truth to the family but we are always glad that the outcome was quite rewarding. We, the partners in crime, have successfully kept that secret just between two of us and we often laugh about the incident remembering good old childhood days.
When I was little, I believed I had two superpowers (and my friends will know this): indomitable ability to work hard and persistence over one thing. I relied heavily on it for any task, challenge, problem – basically, for every aspect of my life. They are my shoes to get by the end and even more needed so when I’s was having a bad day. But, what I didn’t know back then that I was relying on it heavily and compulsively. I started to see myself as ‘hard-worker’ – one who could attain any feat by putting many hours and effort. Whenever I hit success, I would ask for more. I wanted to validate myself in the eyes of others – peers (whom I competed with), family (whom I thought I had to impress and make proud). To say that it became a vicious cycle is an understatement.
When you take something to such a compulsive level, as I did, to the point that you become fully fixated on it then you are moving towards a breakdown. That is what happened with me. After all, how long can you go like that? You are to feel burn-out eventually. What I was feeling physically and emotionally is too deep and dark to put it into words. Externally, I saw a change in my attitude. I started to be more and more irritated. I started to vegetate. Sometimes felt like I was dying inside. I lost my ability to think intelligently, which too I valued so much in my life. I lost all my faith in myself. Eventually, I lost touch with my superpowers.
Looking back after all these years I realized that it does not have to be that way. Now, whenever I meet someone and understand him or her closely, I realize, ‘everyone is so cool in their own ways,’ (unlike previously, where I believed I was the only cool). Culture and media false portray how we should be as a society or an individual. There are hundreds of ways to go by. I also have started to realize that there are so many other qualities in me, which I never knew due to compulsive success-loving outlook, that now I am realizing. I am also learning, probably after reading about it from somewhere, to find ways to channel that part of me to show myself that I can be comfortable relying on it anytime. I am having real fun time now – as the McDonald says, “I’m Lovin’ It.”
Wuu jenson was a selfmade man. From riches to streets and then from streets to castle he made his journey quite smooth at a very young age. He was an achiever and an inspiration before his death. He had lots of big titles to his credit but most importantly a selfie king as the world remembers him now.
Wuu belonged to an upper middle class family. He married Lucy for love and lost his family in the process. His mother still loved him but his father had cut all his contacts to the newly married couple. Mother use to send him money for his education and sustainance as he married too young. But she died too soon and left wuu to surronded by misery.
Wuu jenson was penniless and had a family to feed by the time he was just 21 years of age. He did a great deal of hard work to make his name as a renowned acrobatic champion and recieved much praise. But, all this was not enough to feed his family and obviously for the luxurious life which wuu always wanted for both of them.
One day he was practicing yoga early in the morning when an seemingly brilliant struck his senses and it changed the entire flow of his life. What happened was, he use to watch youtube channel for learning some new meditation form about which he recently heard from his wife. That day while watching a vedio, he realized he can also start his own youtube channel and show the world the skill he had learned in acrobatics. He was also hoping, that his channel would also assure a good flow of income for him. He was good in his sport but not too cool to catch the eyes of the crowd in general, compared to the already established youtube channels, who were the best. But he was too impatient and in need of immidiate gains.
His channel was established during 2000 and till 2002 november it scarcely survived gathering 700 followers. He was looking for something different to snatch thousands of viewers for his vedios. On the birthday while of one of his old friend Wuu visited him after a very long time. They climed at the rooftop of his twenty eight story apartment and he started showing them his new acrobatic skills. In the middle of this he did some moves standing on the corner of the side wall. It was risky and he was filmed by his friends over their.
Selfie fever was catching up those days and both the friends took a risky selfy right there. And posted that on internet. This vedio of wuu, went viral within an hour and as expected thousands of people followed him and appreciated his skills.
After that day. This journey never stopped. Wuu use to take risky selfies and post them on his channel and in not much time he was a youtube celebrity with lots of monetary gains. His financial status changed drastically and his confidence in himself too levelled up.
For few more years he kept posting vedios of him taking challenges. He would not use any form of safety while performing and started posting his pictures from the recorded hights at the most unsafe places. People would not stop asking him to have mercy on his life and he would not stop having the frenzied lust of adventure and money.
From Tokyo sky tree to Burj khalifa he was ready to take a selfie challenge anytime and any how. It seemed he did not fear hights instead hights feared him that what will he conquer next. He was always ready to be dared.
He was just twenty six, when the famous rooftopper was filming a 100,000 yuan selfie dare from a famous entertainment agency. The building he was on was 62 storey slippery glass building in China. He was not nervous a bit, atleast it never showed on his face untill the first warning sign. The live streaming stated filming him going to the top of a huge building top with his selfie stick. He hung himself at the side of the roof with out any protection rope or other safety equipments, as part of his challenge. His family watched at a distance with their heart in their mouth. Local media had already recounted the extensive risk involved, multiple times, but he did not listen to them at all. Then as he was preparing to take the selfie, he must have realised the risk and did not took the selfie stick in his hand for a while. He tried to tighten his hold with his firm palms while hanging, his hands were constantly slipping and he was loosing balance. Then he pushed hard and tried to lift himself. May be at that point he wanted help but the bid was to great to lose. So he just did one last effort with his feet but his shoes slipped on the glass building. He lost all his strength in the process he looked at his hands while placing his foot back at the glass wall he lost it once and forever.
His father watching tv. broke into tears with sheer regret. He too realised how much he loved him. At that moment he was ready to die in wuu’s place. His wife was in shock at how bad the events turned out. She had always trusted his capabilities but it was unexpected for her to see her husband losing on to the challenge and losing his life as well.
It was a tragic end of a hero. He was recorded falling off the building. No one knew his fate. No other vedio featured for a month. Then his wife confirmed his death. No doubt he left a big amount behind him but his precious life was lost his fame too was gone. Only his mistake was left behind as a lesson for others.
This was how the selfie king died, under his own deception of being the king of hights.
Dreaded dreams, tortured vision, torn and broken bodies
And faces disfigured with immeasurable grief
All but have left us withered, spinning
Our fatal passion. Look and see if
My speech is a worthless gift to you.”
—- A Kashmiri poet
It is common knowledge that Kashmir, which used to be referred to as India’s Paradise once, has been reduced to a hotbed of war and violence now. While we sit at home commenting on the situation in the comfort of our drawing rooms, there are people who have forgotten the meaning of ‘normalcy’ since decades altogether.
Problems began back in 1947 during the partition of India when Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of Kashmir, refused to accede to either India or Pakistan. However, after the infiltration of Pakistan into the valley at the dead of the night, the Maharaja, to save his territory, was forced to accede to India after being promised help to drive out the Pakistani troops. India, on the other hand, had promised a plebiscite in Kashmir after the Pakistani troops withdrew. That never really happened because the Pakistani troops never withdrew completely and today they have a share of what is called the PoK or Azaad Kashmir.
One of the main reasons why the Kashmir issue continues to torment the country is that today ot has become more of an ego issue. The land has become much more important than the people of Kashmir.
It’s easy to blame the young boys shouting slogans of azaadi today. However, do we ever stop to think what we would have done had we been denied regular education or if one had about 60% chances of being killed in a clash while he is out on the streets to perform a daily errand? I wouldn’t say whose fault it is because neither am I aware of all the facts nor is the issue simple enough to be divided into black and white. However, the truth is that children have been the worst victims of the unrest in Kashmir. Thousands have been killed and injured. The ones who were lucky enough to survive have been traumatised for life.
Strangely, the great beauty of India’s most spectacular state only reinforces the depth of its relentless suffering. The undulating hills, the luminous blue of the sky, the water turning to green translucent ice on the Dal Lake, the poetry of the chinar’s changing colours- all this splendour makes the absence of tranquillity more poignant. The horror of militancy on the one hand and the monumental mistakes and violations by the state on the other has left many ordinary Kashmiris imprisoned between the battle lines.
We often hear ministers stating how Kashmir is an ‘integral part of India’ and this gives a charming boost to our hyper-nationalist souls. Yes, Kashmir is a part of India. But why treat Kashmiris differently then? Is Kashmir just a piece of land? Why has the world’s largest democracy forgotten to grant basic rights to the people it calls her own? Politicians are fighting and civilians and soldiers are dying as a result.
When people talk about human rights in Kashmir, what we tend to forget is that soldiers are human beings too and they have the same rights as civilians. They don’t kill by will. Like pellet guns have killed and impaired thousands in the Valley, stones and terrorist sponsored separatism have killed and injured the security forces too.
It’s time we realize that Kashmir is not a People vs Army thing. They are just being used as scapegoats. After all, when the coffin comes home, the father of the teenage boy killed by a tear-gas shell fired by security forces and the father of a young soldier pumped with bullets by terrorists- share the same feeling of loss and heartbreak.
As someone had very correctly pointed out, the only solution lies not in parenting but in handholding. The Kashmiris are our own people. Dialogue is the only solution. What we need to do is hear them out and also try to make them understand our point of view. What we really need to do is, ‘give peace a chance’.
To begin with, I want to assure you that angels don’t like earth. Infact earth is that darkest planet in the whole universe which fairies, angels, elfs and encantados etc. are all afraid of, because demons live on Earth. But one of the pretiest of their creed somehow stayed on earth. This is the tale of Ruby, the youngest angel of the fairyland and the only angel who made the other angels to tread on this much feared planet with a renewed perception about Earth and its people.
This story is long forgotten by us, but the people of Sumadia speak about it quit often. In the ancient lands of diamond studded Sumadian kingdom, a young and handsome Sumadian king Aluka decided to build a moon tower. He was fascinated by tales of angels and always fancied what angels look like since his childhood. After he grew up to be an amazing king, he wanted to catch one for his future children, so that they could see in real, how angels look. He knew that the magical beings are almost always attracted by shining objects, so he prepared a grand plan. It was not an intangible idea, His highness was a famous architect himself, he single handedly started working on the moon tower project. The news spread like fire in the forest. On his call, tonnes and tonnes of men reached his kingdom, all were skilled craftsmen. Some came loaded in dinghies and others arrived to the shores in big ships. Many other kings also supported him and sent jewels and precious stones in return of the promise of acquiring an angel for themselves. Some of them only wanted to see angels in their lifetime, and some just presupposed to acquire the angels with force. But what ever were their thoughts, they all contributed with ample amout of dough and manpower for that masterpice of architecture.
This is how with all the positive signs, the moon tower project got under way. King Aluka prepared such an amazing design that any angel which gets attracted towards it, will surely find a path inside but will never be able to get out again. No magic could break the trap as it was carved out of hardest and shiniest element on Earth. There were no loopholes in this perfect trap since the angel bait was good for magical beings but humans could easily walk in and out of the trap.
Almost 20,000 men worked at one time to erect the tower in the middle of the castle. It was made with 24 carat gold and at the top was the stunning crescent moon full of bright shine reflecting from giant diamonds taking light from other heavenly bodies, which was made completely with layers and layers of precious gem stones. Although the moon tower mimicked the shine of moon, even then it shined brighter than all the celestial bodies seen in the vast sky. In two year time the whole tower was made and in the next two only the moon at the top of it, was built. Overall it was a success and turned out to be way better than expected.
Many magical beings came attracted towards the newly built moon but as soon as they came to know that the light is coming from the dark realms of Earth, they would drift away instantly. News about this moon tower reached to the splended fairy kingdom as well, with warnings to avoid the moon at any cost. One day a band of angels passed from above the planet Earth. All were charmed by the cristal shine of the moon but minding the warnings associated with it they ignored the luring glitters of the moon and moved on, on thier path. But Rubi was so enthralled by the glitters and the luster that she hid herself behind a lily to keep looking into the moon. An hour passed gazing into the moon, then Ruby looked around, only to find out that her friends were nowhere near. She made a few calls to them but they were all gone far away. It was not that, she didn’t knew her way back home but she was deliberately looking to spend more time watching the magnificent moon.
Then she thought for a minute, “it’s the right time to explore the moon, before others notice and comeback looking for me, I should go and take a closer look and nobody will ever know about it. “She flew near to the top, it was heavenly experience for her to be surrounded by such beautiful jewels of earth. Finding an opening she peeped in, there was a magnificent stairway adorned by roses made of precious gems. She then so badly wanted to walk on the steps that she ignored all the cautions and jumped inside the trap. Going down and down she realised, she was lost and no longer could find a way out. She became concious of her mistake and blamed herself for the miserable situation she was in. Her night passed crying and she fell asleep on the beautiful floor.
Early morning king looked out of his window to observe the moon tower as his every day ritual. And he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw one lovely angel caught within his moon trap. It was a victory for him and he was over joyed to finally achieved his dreams. He rushed towards the tower to have a closer look at the angel before anyone else finds out about her. Hastily climbing to the top he stopped just near the angel and watched her enchanting face in her sleep and instantly fell in love with her. At that moment Ruby was in her pretiest form, her deep scarlet wings were wide open, her body was glittering with the reflection of diamonds, she was tired and sitting on the diamond studded floor wearing the finest pink ombre fabric. Which was throughly a breathtaking experience for the king.
Hearing some noices around her Ruby wakes up, seeing the king staring at her, the angel was as horified, as the kind was enamored by seeing her beauty. To ease her fear introduced himself and assured her that he would never harm her. He explained his purpose of constructing the tower to her and made an offer to the sweet creature to stay in his kingdom forever. But the angel felt threatened and started weeping. Seeing her pitiful condition king decided to free the angel.
He gave her a blanket to hide herself through the day and promised to return during night and show her the way out. Ruby stopped crying but she was in a fix if she should trust a human or not. As night fell other angels located her but noone dared to step inside the moon to save Ruby, instead they belittled her for defying rules. They tried to use their magic from out side but nothing worked. In the end feeling sorry for her misfortune they left ruby on her fate and went back to fairyland. Ruby at last decided to trust the human, as she had no other choice left with her and also because she had a soft corner in her heart for the kind king. She waited for Aluka for till late, but he did not come. Ruby hopelessly slept on the floor again cursing her fate. When the clock striked 1, king finally reached to Ruby’s help. He entred the moon and walked near the devine being. Although he wanted to watch the beautiful angel sleep but he recalled his promise of freeing her that night. He woke her up and asked her to trust him. Ruby accepted and held the king’s hand which he offered to her. Being a human king Aluka could see the way out very clearly. He escorted the angel out of the moon climbing each stair with somewhat hasitation. He knew he was about to lose his angel still he succumbed for his feeling of pure love towards her. Reaching the last stair he offered the angel to stay with him, this time more assertively then before and with laying bare his heart in front of the pink winged angel. Ruby looked at his face, she knew his proposal was genuine and his heart was pure but she didn’t wanted to commit the same mistake twice. She only accepted the help gracefully and denied his proposal on the grounds that angels can not love humankind.
She walked past the king to get out of the diamond moon first. Breathing the fresh air around her she fluttered her wings and rose above the surface of moon. Now that she knew it was just a trap she couldn’t feel attracted towards it anymore. Thanking king Aluka, she waved goodbye to him once again. Aluka too selflessly let the angel return to her home with a sad smile over his face. She thanked the king and flew away.
Many days passed and other kings were disappointed at how the promising trap failed terribly, because no one else knew about the angel except the king. Aluka was strongly criticised by them for squandering all the money on a useless moon tower which caught nothing except dust. For many days, king couldn’t sleep and eat properly. He was in love with the angel and missed her absence in his life. One night he looked at the moon tower to observe his masterpiece in memory of that beautiful angel he lost. But his happiness knew no bounds when he saw Ruby sitting at the staircase of the moon. He secretly went to meet her without letting anyone know.
The angel was back to Earth only for the king. She said to him not to grieve any longer as she had come to stay. The king proposed again on his knees with the last diamond left in his kingdom, It was an ancestral ring of the royal family, which the angel accepted happily. Then the only barrier was that angels cannot marry a human. Since the king could not be made an angel, Ruby transformed herself into a human by giving up on her magical powers forever. They planned their wedding by the end of one weeks time. And till then everyday they longed for eachother.
This made the lovers realize that no trap in the entire universe is as strong as the bound of love and nothing could be a better craft than a sincere heart. Factually despite the cleaver craftsmanship ofthe moon tower, it couldn’t catch the angel but the selfless love and kindness, which king offered to the angel, sincerely caught her heart. In the end, Ruby, the angel of fierce pink wings, stayed on Earth with her own wishes and all the angels came to attend her marriage to the king. In a weeks time when the wedding ceremonies were going on, the visitors on the brides side, explored the amazing trenches and caverns of earth and fell in love with the place. Along with the mesmarising beauty of Earth beautiful heart of noble men like king Aluka made angels to change their assumptions about the ‘Blue planet’ … Since then magical creatures sometimes visit and even inhabit the deep beautiful forests and beaches of Earth. Since then sending gifts to Earthlings became a known practice in fairyland. And many angels visit our lands till date, to bring gifts to the bloodlines of angels who married on this planet afterall. This is why children all over the world are asked to be kind and sweethearted, so that angels could recognise their hereditary traits in them and give them presents every now and then. And this is the sole reason why Sumanian people recite the advantures of Ruby and King Aluka to their children as bed time stories. Afterall who could guess who are the real heirs of angels amoung all the cute little angels born in form of human babies.
Love! wow such a great word ain’t it ? So simple to speak and write , but this word is so much powerful it can really do wonders in a person’s life. Love can bring a happy start in one’s life . One of the best feeling a person can ever have is Love.Such is my story too.
It all started with a friend request in Facebook.Well it’s a guy’s nature to send a friend request in Facebook as soon as they see a beautiful girl’s profile ,so same was with me also . It was 6th of July, I still remember that date. A simple normal day , I was usually busy looking into pretty girl’s profiles as when I came across this girl.I never felt about any girl like I felt when I first came across her profile. Such magnificent beauty I literally starred at her profile for ten minutes and was busy admiring her beauty.I understood that day that God exists as she was one of the example how perfectly she was made by God. Immediately after sending her the friend request was eagerly waiting to see if she accepted my request or not,which wait couldn’t stay longer as mom interrupted my wait and said to get my homework done .Oh yes forgot to tell you people only I was in class 10 then .So getting back to the main storyline .
Next day when I came back from school I checked my Facebook .May be that day it was the first time I had been so eager to open my fb. Even few seconds as the application opened it felt like it’s taking hours. Anyways so as I opened my fb went through the notifications ,a sense of blushing covered my face as it was not only that she accepted my friend request but also sent me message ‘Hi’.So much excited that I came up with a ‘hello’ immediately. Soon another unexpected thing happened she too replied .Now we began full fledged chatting.These things soon became a daily routine for me as I came from school . That time I had WhatsApp but she wasn’t there as her phone didn’t not support WhatsApp. After sometime even my that wish was fulfilled as she got a new phone on her birthday ‘February 17’ ahh how can I forget that date.we didn’t know each other much as we never met neither did we talk over the phone, to be precise we were just Facebook friends to be simple , But I always felt there’s some connection in between us .She became so important for me that I couldn’t afford to loose her by taking a chance and saying that I like her .Soon we started talking in WhatsApp .It always felt so special when she used to send me voice messages.Her voice was one of a kind. A sweet Melody as I heard her everytime. Soon after we started toking over the phone.Hours went by but our ocean of contents failed to to be less .No matter how long would I had been talking with her it never felt long rather it felt short .One day I remember 6th December , it was Dawn I was having tea inside my T.V. room.she suddenly messaged me saying ‘I Love You’ I was awestruck seeing that. It was a chilly evening time but still I had sweat seeing that particular message. At first many feelings came across my mind that may be she is joking or may be she really does like me or may be she always liked me as her friend. As when I was thinking about those things, one thing really pinched me everytime is this the right time?. Shall I tell her that I love her too .After fighting with myself for more than 10 minutes I finally decided that I am going to tell her that I like her .I typed the message that I love her too but a reply which I always feared came to me ‘i was kidding’. I was like shit man I screwed it up all..Now there’s no way out . To handle the situation I told her that even I was joking but then as I wrote that message another reply came to me rather an unexpected one which had ‘ leave Piku you won’t understand’.Some great scholar had said correctly that women can never be understood. No scientist has ever discovered how a women o girl thinks and what’s going inside their head.This time I was sure that I would confess no matter what ever be the outcome.I messaged her saying I love you .This brave step from my side changed my life for ever as the next message was I love you too .The happiest moment in my life till date ..I literally jumped off my chair .From that very day my life changed down into a new and beautiful chapter which I would be sharing very soon .
My summer holidays had begun and I was lazing in bed feeling like a procrastinator. Suddenly Mummy came n with something in her hands. A tiny hummingbird! It was trembling because of a broken leg which was bleeding badly. “Arun Bhaiya found the poor thing lying under the Kadamb tree in the garden,” Mummy said.
Oh! The desire I had to hug and kiss it was uncontrollable and the disappointment, indescribable when I realised it was too small!
My sister, Prakriti, and I got her the basket we used for our chickens a year ago and I washed her leg and bound it with gauze.
We put her in my softest napkin with a bottle cap half full of water and sprinkled some millet – seeds near it. When Dad came home he christened her ‘Melanie’, on the spot and Melanie she was!
For two days we played with, soothed, caressed and comforted her When the sun rays bounce off her back, pink, green, red, mauve, yellow and a deep glint of blue would shimmer and glimmer all around her. On the third day, after giving Melanie her millet seeds and water. I went out to play. When I came back and asked Mummy if could play with her, “Sure” was the answer. I expected Melanie to be up and about-about just the just the previous she had started tweeting.
I opened the cage and there she was stiff and cold, with her legs suspended in midair. I screamed! I was hysterical. I ran to my room and slamming the door shut flung myself ° onto the bed and cried. After I had calmed down I told Mummy and Prakriti what had happened, Silently, we buried her and planted pansies over her grave and sobbed, tears flowing freely down our cheeks.
My time with Melanie was brief but very beautiful My memories of her-hopping in the garden, tweeting for the first time, standing with the nap rainbow colors shimmering around her, sleeping in napkin-these memories always be with always me with me, treasured in my Heart …
“You know, you’re in here with the God tonight”, said one.
“If you are God, you’re in the wrong place tonight”, replied the other.
If you have read up to this, you must be thinking that why would someone write Batman vs. Superman as a story. An epic clash indeed but this one isn’t about any Comic book superhero. This is reliving the clash of the real life ‘Legends’. One which is called “The Fight of the Century”.
Yes, I am talking about the historic boxing match between Joe ‘Smokin’ Frazier and Muhammad ‘Greatest’ Ali. Two of the world’s best fighter pitted against each other as the world watched with awe. It was the first time that two undefeated boxers fought each other for the heavyweight title. The fight between champion Joe Frazier (26 wins, 23 knockouts) and challenger Muhammad Ali (31–wins, 25 knockouts) was held on March 8, 1971, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
“I am the Greatest”
The famous quotes from arguably the best boxer in the world, Muhammad Ali (originally known as Cassius Clay), would self-promulgate himself as being “the greatest”. A boxer with an unorthodox style of fighting, Ali unlike other boxers never relied on power. His strong point was his superb reflexes, superior hand movements and quick footwork inside the ring. Holding his hands low he lashed out at opponents with a quick jab from inconceivable angles. In fact, he was so nimble inside the ring that it was extremely hard for his opponents to corner him against the ropes. He used certain techniques to overcome his opponents by taking a straight plunge backward from incoming punches. Highly conditioned boxers fell bait to this trick and got off balance which left Ali to counter punch them with a flurry of jabs and hooks. A fighter of exceptional caliber, nevertheless he was infamous for his arrogance, boorishness, nasty temper and a habit of mouthing off his opponents. He regularly taunted his opponents which include Liston, Frazier, Foreman before the fight and more often than not during the fight itself.
“ Smokin Joe”
Joseph William ‘Joe’ Frazier was a professional heavyweight boxer and one of the best in the history of the sport. He was the undisputed world heavyweight champion until 1973 when he lost it to George Foreman. Contrary to Ali’s style Frazier was famous for sheer strength, endurance, punch power and all-out attack. Frazier had a unique style of fighting-bobbing, weaving and relentless pressure to wear down his opponents. His best-known punch was a powerful left hook, which scored for most of his knockouts.
“If you wanna be the best, you gotta be the best”
-Never Back Down.
In 1971, both Ali and Frazier had legitimate claims to the title of World Heavyweight Champion. An undefeated Ali had won the title from Sonny Liston in Miami Beach in 1964 and successfully defended his belt up until he had it stripped by boxing authorities for refusing induction into the armed forces in 1967. In Ali’s absence, the undefeated Frazier garnered two championship belts through knockouts of Buster Mathis and Jimmy Ellis. He was recognized by boxing authorities as the World Champion. Frazier was credibly Ali’s superior, unlike Mathis and Ellis which resulted in an enormous level of hype and expectation where the two undefeated champions were against each other to determine who the best was. Both were unbent, unbroken and unbowed. Well, until then!!!
Ali had his pre-fight theatrics ready which added insult to the injury. His taunts were targeted towards Frazier so that he could psychologically win the battle by stirring him which would break his concentration. Ali portrayed Frazier as a “dumb tool of the white establishment”. “Frazier is too ugly to be champ,” Ali said. “Frazier is too dumb to be champ.” Ali also frequently called Frazier an Uncle Tom. Dave Wolf, who worked in Frazier’s camp, recalled that “Ali was saying ‘the only people rooting for Joe Frazier are white people in suits, Alabama sheriffs, and members of the Ku Klux Klan. I’m fighting for the little man in the ghetto.’ Joe was sitting there, smashing his fist into the palm of his hand, saying, ‘What the f**k does he know about the ghetto?”The match was more than just a fight for the Americans. Ali had become a symbol of the left-wing anti-establishment movement during his government-imposed exile from the ring, while Frazier had been adopted by the conservative, pro-war movement. If you were going for Ali you were black, liberal and young, against the Vietnam War and for the Civil Rights movement. If you supported Joe Frazier you were a representative of white, conservative America.
March 8, 1971. Madison Square Garden. New York City.
“Just listen to the roar of this crowd!” thundered Burt Lancaster, the play-by-play man. “The tension and the excitement here is monumental!” On the evening of the match, Madison Square Garden had an electrifying atmosphere, with policemen to control the crowd, abominably dressed fans, and countless celebrities, from Norman Mailer and Woody Allen to Frank Sinatra, who, after being unable to procure a ringside seat, took photographs for Life magazine instead. Artist Le Roy Neiman painted Ali and Frazier as they fought. Burt Lancaster served as a color commentator for the closed-circuit broadcast. Though Lancaster had never performed as a sports commentator before, he was hired by the fight’s promoter, Jerry Perenchio, who was also a friend. The other commentators were play-by-play announcer Don Dunphy and boxing champion Archie Moore. The referee for the fight was Arthur Mercante, Sr. the Fight lived up to more than everyone’s expectation and surprisingly went for the full 15 rounds. “It was electric in the Garden the night of the fight,” Shearer remembers. “It was the night of the great showdown between the era’s two gladiators, and there was a sense that the unprecedented hype for the fight might actually fall short of the reality. And, remember, without a doubt, it was a very, very pro-Ali crowd. They all came to see him win, to see him destroy Joe Frazier.”
“The Fight”
Ali commanded the initial three rounds, peppering the shorter Frazier with jabs that raised bruises on the champion’s face. In the closing seconds of round three, Frazier connected with a magnificent hook to Ali’s jaw, pushing his head back. Frazier viciously attacked Ali’s body as the hurt former champion covered up for the first time. Frazier began to dictate the fourth round, blowing Ali with several of his famed left hooks and pinning him against the ropes to deliver terrible body blows.
Ali was visibly tired after the sixth round, and though he put together some flurries of punches after that round, he was unable to maintain the tempo he had set in the first third of the fight. His speed and combinations kept him on even terms with Frazier, however, at 1 minute and 59 seconds into round eight following his clean left hook to Ali’s right jaw, Frazier, tired of Ali’s leaning on the ropes and clinching to avoid fighting, grabbed Ali’s wrists and swung Ali into the center of the ring. Ali immediately grabbed Frazier until they were once again separated by Mercante. The fight was intense until round 11.
Round 11
During the opening seconds of round 11, Frazier caught Ali with a left hook at nine seconds into the round. At 10 seconds into the round, Ali fell to the canvas with both gloves and his right knee on the canvas with the video clearly showing Ali down at the 10.5 – 11-second mark into the round. Mercante stepped between Ali and Frazier separating them as Ali rose from the canvas. Mercante wiped Ali’s gloves but failed to call the knockdown. At 18 seconds into round 11, Mercante indicated the fighters to engage once again. Round 11 finished with Frazier floundering Ali with a crushing left hook and Ali stumbled and grabbed at Joe to keep his balance and finally stumbled back first to the ropes before bouncing forward again to Frazier and grabbing on to Frazier until the fighters were separated by Mercante at 2:55 into the round. Ali spent the remaining 5 seconds of round 11 escaping his way back to his corner. Ali managed to survive the round, but from then on Frazier seemed to control the fight.
The Victorious
At the end of round 14, Frazier held a lead on all three scorecards (by scores of 7–6–1, 10–4, and 8–6). Early in round 15, Frazier landed a terrific left hook that put Ali on his back. Ali, his jaw swollen grotesquely, got up from the blow quickly and managed to stay on his feet for the rest of the round despite a flurry of punches from Frazier. A few minutes later the judges made it official: Frazier had retained the title with a unanimous decision, dealing Ali his first professional loss.
Later Years
Ali, for his part, refused denied his defeat publicly and privately to his friends, such as George Plimpton and attempted to impress the outcome in the public’s mind as a “White Man’s Decision”. By the time of the rematches the social climate in America had settled down, with The Vietnam War coming to an end and without either fighter representing the social divide in the country, neither their second or third fight lived up to the hype of the first. Of those who participated that evening, seven have been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York. They are Ali, Frazier, referee Arthur Mercante, matchmaker Teddy Brenner, Garden president Harry Markson, Ali’s trainer Angelo Dundee, Frazier’s trainer Eddie Futch and a broadcast team that included Don Dunphy and Archie Moore.
Legacy
The fight was unique in essence as for the first time in history it matched an unbeaten former heavyweight champion against the unbeaten current champion. If styles make fights, then there has never been a pair of fighters who complemented each other more. Ali was the boxer and Frazier the puncher. The key to Ali’s success was his speed and a left jab that could dictate a fight. He also had enough agility and footwork to escape danger. Frazier’s best punch was a devastating left hook but his prized attribute was his courage, grit and never-say-die attitude. A fight with Joe Frazier was a war. “The Fight” was witnessed by 20,455 at the Garden and it has been estimated that 300 million more watched it across the world on closed-circuit television. The live gate generated $1.3 million.
Ali and Frazier set the standard that night at the Garden. Boxers will forever battle but few will be able to replicate it with the skill, elegance, courage, and determination of Ali and Frazier. They brought the best out of each other and out of the sport of boxing.
