The Writing Stick

A freak We met him on the road. He was standing at side of it. No plea at all. No placard. No shouts, just a friendly wave. That got me curious. Father had earlier told me to not pick up any hitchhiker from the road. They are usually dangerous he had said. But this one was different. He had a large ransack, some tins, a cap, rusty shoes and shabby face. These were usual for any hitchhiker. This guy had something different and that was his smile. I had never seen a single person on the road, which would not have hopeful eyes, begging for the lift. This one was just happy. His eyes were telling that, he wouldn’t feel sad if we don’t pick him up. So, we did. I backed up my 4 X 4 next to him and told him to hop on. My friend started it. “So? Where to my friend?” “Wherever you are going!”-he said being carefree. “I told you, he is nuts. He just wants to rob us. May be he has a gun or knife with him. You need to drop him off right now”-my friend said anxiously. ...

THE LITTLE THINGS. what makes you happy? Leave all your work for 2 minutes. Scroll the page a little slower than you usually do. Let your eyes rest a little on every word you read and think. What makes you happy? Dear friend, I have something that I have to tell you. Come closer. Do listen... what makes you happy? feeling the grass on your back as you see the stars shine brightly? wearing a bindi to work for a change? taking candle lit baths during a power cut? starring into the space for a while after completing a great novel? what makes you happy? What makes you happy? sleepless nights? Long conversations that witness dawn? Sharring a packet of Kurkure with you best friend? What makes you happy dear friend? having your heart shattered at the brilliance of a tragic novel? Dance like crazy at shitty songs? Sitting at a famous flyover at night and having ice cream? when someone shares their chocolate with you? taking random long drives on your 10 years old ...

GOD FOR ALL    Temples play a big role in Indian culture. Most Indians go for darshan, an eye-to eye- contact , of their favorite deity as often as possible. Even the poorest will save up enough money to be able to make a pilgrimage to their cherished temple. Festivals make temples even more important. On certain religious days, one can get killed trying to enter a temple.          Visiting temples for darshan and offering gifts to the Gods and Goddesses is such an integral part of our culture, temples end up amassing a lot of wealth in the form of cash, gold and silver. Just to list the top three temples: Padmanabhaswamy Temple, in 2011, was recorded as having $23.3 billion, in addition to gold ornaments, sack full of diamonds, 17 kilo gold coins dating back to East India Company, golden bow, and much more.  Tirupati temple’s deity is clad in 1000 kilos of gold. People drop bags of diamonds and gold at times at the feet of the dei...