The Partition, and What it Means to an Unconcerned Indian

Welsh soldiers

It’s time to grieve.

Because it looks like the Great Britain I’ve known since forever and have adored, will stop being.

I know nothing of English politics. Or the politics of Scotland. Hell, I don’t even know the politics of the country I call home. (That, I don’t care for much)

It won’t affect me in any way, but I will grieve if Great Britain breaks.

Ever since I remember, Great Britain has been a huge part of India. Whatever India is today, is partly everything the British gave us. From food, to railroads, to pants and shirts — everything that the modern Indian society takes for granted, is borrowed from the British. Oh and the Literature!

It’s so deeply etched in Indian history that it pains to think that the name that made us, will be no more. Over the years, I’ve come to look at Great Britain as the forerunner of what we are today.

Yes, we hate the British for insulting Mother India, for using our men for cheap labor, and all other crap Indians say on Independence day. But, the image of Great Britain is still something I look up to.

Jokes of the partition, saying who’d get Hogwarts after the partition, are far from funny – even for a HP fan. Come to think of it, I’ve always imagined the Big Ben as the icon of Britain, and I’m guilty of overlooking the 2 other countries that completed the name.

The Scots want their country identified, to step away from the shadow they’ve been in for 300 years. They have every right to vote for — I’m even a little surprised it didn’t happen sooner. They’ll face a lot of challenges as a separate country, and that’s only natural. But in time, Scotland will be a stable country, and I wish them well.

But that doesn’t mean I am not disappointed. The British name has affected more than Scotland. Soon a lot of Wikipedia articles will be altered, and starting there, we’ll see less and less of Great Britain and Britishness.

It’s no easy partition. Psychologically.

A Father’s Advice

Darkness fell.

He expertly maneuvered the sedan through traffic, and safely got the madam home. He parked, and rushed to open the door for the lady. She looked exhausted but, swinging her hair back, walked purposefully towards her home, as he trudged behind with her luggage.

He came home much later. His daughter snoozed over her math homework. She jerked awake as he caressed her hair. She smiled apologetically, and he understandingly.

“Never, my dear,” he said “be a slave.”

Another short story for my collection of Flash Fiction. Let me know what you think.

These Are a Few My Favourite Books

reading 2

I’ve been into books for a long time, and over time, I’ve had a lot of favourites. These books made, completed my childhood, and some of them I still turn to whenever I’m tired of the world. (Which is, a lot of times)

So, when I realized that IndiSpire had the perfect prompt for this week, I decided to take the plunge. Here’s a list of 10 of my favourite books. In no particular order,

1. Poems for Pleasure: I love reading poetry. I don’t know why exactly, but there’s a sense of peace that engulfs me whenever I curl in a corner with this book. There’s also a sentimental value to this book – my mother bought this in a second hand sale ages ago, and she gave it to me when I first started writing.

2. Tuesdays with Morrie: I watched the movie first and was so impressed when I learnt this was a book. It’s a small, simple book, but it’s so relatable. You can’t help but agree with the ideas expressed in the book. It’s quite amazing what an ALS patient has to tell the world. Wonder what Morrie would say about the Ice Bucket Challenge?

3. Harry Potter and the Order Of the Phoenix: It’s not the only HP book I like, but there’s something about Harry’s fifth year that strikes me hard. I remember not wanting to read this after I heard of Sirius death in this part. But ever since I read it, my love for Sirius has only increased.

4. Eragon – #1 of The Inheritance Cycle: I was so surprised when I read that Christopher Paolini was only 15 when he finished the first draft of this book. This isn’t the best book I’ve ever read, but it is a special book. I was captivated by the simplicity of the narrative. Surprisingly, Eldest (#2) and Brisingr (#3) weren’t that great. And I didn’t read Inheritance (#4)

5. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: I can’t claim that I’ve read all of the Sherlock Holmes adventures, but of the few I’ve read – I’ve never been so impressed. What an amazing man, Sherlock Holmes! Everytime I think about Sherlock’s powers of deduction, I can’t help but imagine what kind of a man Arthur Conan Doyle would’ve been!

6. Agatha Christie: Again, I haven’t read all of Agatha Christie (quite impossible, actually) But of the ones I did read, I was impressed with her writing and the complexities of her plots. “Minute,” that’s how I describe her crimes. Particularly, The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side. No wonder she’s the Queen of Crime!

7. A Christmas Carol: This is the first book I ever reviewed. Once in our English class, we were asked to write about “my favourite book,” and I chose this. That’s when I first learnt that when you write about something you’ve read, you get better at explaining your thoughts.

8. Les Misérables: I stayed up until 4 AM reading this book. It was a translated copy of Penguin Publications that I had borrowed from my school library. Great story, and the quotes are still etched deep in my memory: “Unwitting innocence is sometimes more penetrating than cunning.”

9. Wuthering Heights: A love story like no other. I often wonder how the literary world would be if Emily Bronte had written more than just this one book. But perhaps that’s her greatness: one book that shook the world. This book remains my favourite story of love to this date, no competition.

10. Enid Blyton’s classics: Childhood is incomplete without Enid Blyton. What hasn’t she written about? Adventure series, The Famous Five, Secret Seven and The Find-Outers mysteries, The Malory Towers and St. Clares for school goers to relate to. And so many other books every child should enjoy.

The list doesn’t end with these books though. There are countless other books that didn’t make the list, but still deeply affected my life.

Remember the Tinkle Digest? Suppandi, Shikari Shambhu, Tantri the Mantri and all those comic characters that made boring days bearable – ah, this prompt makes me nostalgic.

I’ll be there for you – Tanka

It was a worn cliff.
From the edge, he looked down — wondering.
What’s the point of waiting?
Who would miss him if he left?
“Woof,” came a definite answer from behind.

woof 1

I didn’t want to miss this week’s writing challenge, so I clubbed it with my customary Flash Fiction. I stuck to the pattern, words in the sequence, 5-7-5-7-7

Why I Ditched Earphones

I’m a musicaholic. I’m probably exaggerating, but you get the idea; I love listening to music. But then again, who doesn’t, right?

But, I ditch my ear phones — when I walk home.

I’m always plugged in at work — makes it easier to ignore a lot of people; all I have to do is stare at the screen like I’m too involved to talk or hear others talking. Drowns out a lot of disturbances too.

ear phones

Anyway, I don’t plug in when I’m walking home. No, it’s not like a walk in the park, it’s not peaceful, not quiet and it surely isn’t enjoyable. And no, I don’t have company.

Walking in Chennai streets (during peak hours, with the vehicles racing by honking and blaring their headlight into your eyes) is like walking towards death. Not only in terms of accidents, but there’s the risk of hyper tension — which leads to a more painful death.

When I first started using the iPod, I was so excited to walk with my favourite music ringing in my ears. It was funny, to look at people’s faces as they rush to and from buildings with painful expressions. It was a kind of entertaining to watch them all in mute. Sounds a little evil? Well, the music was only self defence — it greatly improved my mood.

But soon enough, things changed. I saw a lot of girls, all plugged in and walking rigidly. They didn’t seem to be enjoying the music, their faces were filled every emotions but joy. It was odd. Perhaps they were afraid to smile when their favourite song played, scared because poeple would judge — that happens quite often, people are always looking for reasons to make others feel like shit.

And then it happened to me too. I don’t care about what others think of me, it happens to me all the time that I’m used to it now.

It bothered me more that I was getting distracted. I was always plugged in; at work, at the gym, and while walking home, soon after. The result: I had stopped actually listening to the music.

I never wanted that.

My mind was filled with other thoughts — general feelings, conversation replays, dinner, family, work, people, more people and people I hate being around.

Practically everything but the music that played in my ears. That hardly happened before, I used to be able to sit at length without thinking of anything. But the music broke that.

It was freedom — like never before. My earphones drowned the rest of the world, and suddenly reality was gone. I didn’t need to make conscious effort to ignore the world, it was easier to get into my own thoughts.

It mightn’t sound so bad, but it made no sense. I plugged in for the pleasure of music, and suddenly I couldn’t enjoy it. What’s the point?

So I decided to ditch the earphones. Now I can enjoy the music for what it is, and still drift away from reality whenever I want to — without using music as a distraction.

Makes sense?