Author - Jui Purohit.

 "Where's the dance club", she asked one of the seniors, standing in the corridors of the college. He told her "Room no. 13 to the left ". She thought he's kidding. She confirmed yet again....."Rrrroom no.....13?". He affirmed. Shreya was a bit of superstitious. 13 is an unlucky number, so to say. She was somewhat scared too. "Are they pulling my leg? Ragging me or something?....but dance is my dream and destination. I have to join this club in order to get recognised", she thought. Shreya walked down the corridors. She turned left and there was the room....no.13. She was at the door and hesitantly peeped in. There were few students sitting in the audience seats. Some were standing in the wings of the stage, making some electrical connections for mic and speakers. One corner was occupied by girls, giggling, watching some video and her eyes fell on a handsome young man, with a guitar in his hands.  He was stringing ...Everything I do..I do...

  And he took over her, from the blind side..... Rekha was a cheerful and homely girl. She always wanted to be happy and content, even in small things, in small achievements. She worked hard to help her family to sustain in difficult economic conditions. She also helped old people or needy ones around, with whatever she could. She was always on her toes! Rekha met Randeep during a sight visit, related to her work. Randeep was a charmer, often, he used to beguile people around him. Randeep had all the qualities of a family man. Randeep made Rekha to fall for him, by his polite behaviour, his sweet talks, his mannerisms. Randeep proposed to her and also got the consent from her family, and they both decided to get married. Rekha was happy, she had started weaving her dreams, of becoming a good wife. She had always imagined of getting married, having a happy family, a small house of their own. They both got married, in a simple yet elegant celebration. Rekha had made a fixed deposit o...

  "Nothing is perfect, Life's messy, Relationships are complex, Outcomes are uncertain, People are irrational!" ~ Hugh Mackay. We have a 'Good Relationship'...hmmm now that's a tricky thing to say these days. How would you define Good in a relationship? You are helpful, your conversations are without fights, you are understanding???....Well! Yes...could be. Good relationships aren't built in a day, just like Rome! It takes a lot of effort, mutually (mutual...that is most important ). You have to sometimes take a step back, sometimes trust even if you have doubts, you have to keep faith in the person and the relationship. Knowing your perfections and imperfections, and still being by your side, is what a good companion can do! So, does that mean you've to sacrifice always? No, not really...you've every right to question... But then believe in the answers too! Communication, appreciation and comprehension are the pillars to escalate the strength of a...

 "Please shut the eyes and the screens for sometime", I said to the kids. "You are watching the screen since 4 hours now, it's going to strain your eyes", I rolled up my eyes. But kids were unmoved. The pandemic definitely, is making our kids lazy and hooked to the screen. They don't want to go out, exercise, play outdoor games, nor do they want to learn something new. The online classes ain't very educational either. It's not the same as facing your teacher and being present in the class, physically. Moreover attention span of kids is limited and on the top of it, if classes are online, it's tough for them to not get distracted. The YouTubes and like ones, are already a click away, to add to the deflection. I continuously keep telling my kids to take a break, move around, just jump or stretch, or just close their eyes, sit back and relax. Continuous and long exposure to screens, end up with dry eyes. Then kids keep rubbing their eyes, causing mo...

  What's to be dumbstruck, I got to know that day! Literally going dumb. Mr. Husband, my elder son (didn't have the younger one then) and me, were in a great mood. Hence decided to roam around the town, as a quick outing. On the way, it was decided to stop by for some shopping...groceries, clothes, etc. So, Mr. Husband took a right turn to the mall. Malls were, so to say, a recreational space, at that time. It was newly opened mall and a huge one too. Mr. Husband parked the car and we entered the mall. My son was 3.5 years old, then. He was excited, as he knew, he would be taken to the play area in the mall. Being a hyper active kid, he loved that place, with slides, cars and other fun activities. We first went to Shoppers Stop. Mr. Husband and me, surfed through some clothing brands, but didn't like the collection. So we entered another shop. There was a good collection of women clothing. I was searching for my size, in tops and found a few. Mr. Husband didn't find any...

It was love at first sight! Yes! It was! Our eyes met, at the exhibition centre, that day. It was a big day for me. I was about to graduate and it was my final exhibition, which was to be graded by our professors and some well known artists in the town. He was there with his friends, to see the exhibition. The graduation exhibitions usually need invites, one of my classmates, was his friend. And hence, he was invited. He didn't look keen to go through all the exhibits. His eyes were just wandering around. He stood in front of my painting, he stared at it. I was standing next to my painting, he turned and our eyes met. He paused, looked deep into my eyes. The way he was looking at the paintings and the way he looked at me, was entirely different....like chalk and cheese. His eyes were engaging, as if expatiating a tale.....maybe a love story! I diverted my glance from him to my painting. And started to introduce my masterpiece. "These hues depict the spring, the blossoms.......

 I asked for a car but was given a doll, They said, it wasn't my call, I had to listen not talk,I  couldn't carelessly run but slowly walk....I wanted a toy gun,But was quickly shun, Go play with utensils,That will sharpen the household skills.... I wished for a book,But in turn was asked to cook, They said, let boys learn,Later, it's them who earn.... Don't laugh and giggle aloud,Be coy, don't be proud, Don't play with boys,Sit at home playing with your toys.... I wanted to wear my choice of dress,But they said I would get harassed, It's better to cover,Than to get discovered.... Let me cut my hair, I beg, Atleast, let me shake a leg,They said, dance is not for girls,And you look good in long curls.... Cricket is my favourite sport,I want to toss tennis balls in court, Skirts and shorts, you can't wear,You're fragile, sun's heat, how can you bear? Girls cannot go on trips,Don't flaunt your hair, put on some clips, Pants are for boys not for ...

 "Even if you try it 100 more times the answer would be the same. There are no flames in here, see, it's showing 'E-ENEMY' in blocks, again", said Geeta. And I was scribbling 'Flames' to make a perfect match with him. I knew somewhere deep in my heart that he didn't like me. He never bothered to ask me how I was, nor greeted me with a smile, for that matter. He smirked and smiled, with his other friends, but he was always cautious of his expressions when it came to me. "Stop wasting pages of your notebook Shweta", Geeta flicked my head. "I want to stop being stupid too. But Iss dil ka kya karun...mei kya karun...mei kya karun!", I said. "Why haven't you tried talking to Gautam? Your 'flames' shows 'A- affection' and that's how things start", I winked at her. Geeta always brushed away Gautam's topic. But I knew that she liked him. I used to rush to school, bicycling hastily, so that I could reach...

*CLICK HERE FOR PREVIOUS PART(1)*  I turned the page to read the next entry from my diary of 1995. It was embellished with stars, smiley stickers. I had made some drawings here and there, some butterflies, balloons and flowers in red, pink and blue. Coffee mugs, sandwiches, spooky faces. It was so colourful, vivid and huey that it made my eyesight blur.....wait....or was I teary eyed? 13th October 1995 - 8:00 A.M. - The regular revision with Tina done. Today Tina had got yummy sheera made by her mom for breakfast. I love her mom's cooking. She's a great host, never let's anybody leave her house empty stomach. We both read all the History-Geo chapters while relishing sheera. And thankgod, we finished it before the 'famine-prone region' lesson. That way we are very guilty conscious! Today after completing our studies, our group of friends had decided to meet up. All of us wanted a break from this PL (preparatory leave) and exam pressure. But it's Friday the 13th t...

*CLICK HERE FOR PREVIOUS PART(2)*  15th October 2022 - 8:00 A.M. - It's Saturday and I got up late. We all got up late for that matter and that's how I could make do with it. So, late breakfast, dilly-dallying on a so called holiday. Even if it's holiday for all, I have to cook 3 meals, fold clothes, arrange the scattered books, newspapers, and other silly things lying here and there . 10.30 A.M. - As a sweet surprise, my phone buzzed. And it was Tina at the other end. How elated I was to hear her voice after years. I couldn't recall the last time I had talked to her. We now live in an age of advanced technology, texts, video calls, everything's available at a click of button. Yet we are so busy doing our things that we forget to connect. Tina asked me whether I was free for the day, so we could meet. She's been living in Australia since years now. She was visiting India after many years. I was glad we would be connecting. 12.00 P.M. - I reached the restaurant o...

 12th October 1995 - 8:00 A.M.- Tina and me studied for three hours. She had come to my place as usual. The chirping birds in the balcony kept us company throughout, as if encouraging us. We scribbled flames, in between, when we got bored. All the names of boys were matched to all the names of girls. It was so much fun. Then, to relax for a while, we took a stroll in our garden. And while relaxing, adding to our Botany knowledge, we discussed the flowers and some insects for zoology sake. Our small talks keep us cheered and refresh us both, everyday. 12:00 P.M. - Revised important Math formulae, solved the difficult sections from the past papers. I have decided that I will score excellent marks in the term exams, so that I don't have to slog more in the later half for boards. But when you study Math, don't you get hungry? It's like all the energy is sucked by the subject in one go. So it was lunch time now. 3:00 P.M. - After lunch, took a quick nap, 'siesta' is a mu...

 "Everybody comes up with fantastic takes on various prompts", I think to myself. "Why can't I think of something out of the box?" is my soliloquy.  "Ah! This one is similar to her last post. She has just changed a few lines here and there. I could do that too and complete all the challenges," the brooding continues. Hmmm....What's all this chatter about? Well, I am just spilling the beans. 'The Secret Life of Writers'. "He has already published his book. Where am I heading?" are questions we keep asking ourselves. When we say don't be judgmental about others, somewhere we keep judging ourselves. We encourage fellow bloggers, we write good things about them in comments, we praise and drop hearts and hugs and kisses. But don't we feel jealous sometimes when we read some amazing stories out there? Having said this, don't assume that when we applaud, it's always fake. We genuinely like writeups that are beautifully pe...

 There has never been a secret between mom and me. I was vocal enough, since childhood, regarding my problems, my hesitations, silliest of doubts in my mind. And she was approachable enough to babble anything and everything. She never judged, even if my stories were frivolous. She always gave a patient ear to all my chatters. Mom is this one person in front of whom I shed all my inhibitions, comfortably. As I matured, she also started sharing her worries, her uncertainties and insecurities with me. When we discussed something it was 100% sure of being reticent of disclosure. But after my marriage, I wonder, since when Mr.Hubby breached this firewall. He actually bypassed it and all the data packets started entering and exiting the network without much effort. Well, he must've put in some efforts for sure, hacking a fool-proof security isn't easy that way! The phone calls slowly became trunk calls...how? Remember those old times, when the long-distance calls traversed from one o...

 If you've been reading my blogs, you all must've known by now, how little I like cooking. My tryst with round rotis, from country maps to geoid to yes, somewhat round shapes, now. Kya aapke toothpaste mei namak hai? Kind of questions asked to me...Kya aapke ghar mei namak jyada aata hai? The food is excessively salty. Oho! Ganne ke khet lagva lo....This kheer is too sweet, exactly how much sugar did you use? From here to now, "Yum puranpolis these are!" - My hubby. "Mom please don't ask the maid to cook, the prawns curry, the one you make is awesome!" - my kids. Everybody loves a little bit of taareef here and there. And from hating to cook to learning to cook, and getting praised for the food I cook, I've come a long way. Let me share with you a funny incident. Well, whether it's funny or tragic, you all can decide after reading. I was in school and had recently learnt to cook rice and dal in pressure cooker. It's not a rocket science, thou...