The Drama of Flight 852

It happened yesterday.

KG, my best half boarded the Spicejet flight no. 852, from Srinagar to Jammu.
After ALL the security checks et all, (the no. of security checks in Srinagar are much more!) he boarded the aircraft.

The flight was full and all the passengers had occupied their seats. And just then, an air hostess and 2 officials reached the seat no. 16-D and asked its occupant to disembark from the plane.

The occupant of the seat no. 16-D was none other than KG!!
KG is all shocked and bewildered at this. To add to this, the embarrassment of being the cynosure of about 150 pairs of eyes!!

I am sure, the first thought many would have had “Oh, a terrorist??” or somebody would have even thought, “Oh, a handsome terrorist!!”

Amidst protests/explanations, KG disembarked from the plane and at the bottom of the staircase was his blue colored VIP Skybag, which was surrounded by 4 officials.

They explained that there’s some problem with the bag!!

And the problem was…



The seams of the bag was open by 5 cms!
So, they make him sign on his baggage tag.

And that’s IT!! I mean, THAT”S IT!!!!

Are you shocked? Angry? Annoyed? Irritated at this??
Well, KG truly was!!

So, when he entered back into the aircraft, he insisted on seeing the Pilot. When he came out of the cockpit, KG demanded a complaint register. And none was available.

Let me tell you, KG is damn impressive in creating a furore!  And you bet, he created one for the whole flight to see!

At Srinagar airport (like many other airports), there is a process of Baggage Identification (wherein, you have to personally identify your baggage after check –in, after which it is loaded onto the aircraft). And it seems that the personnel at the Baggage Identification missed seeing this. (The protocol demands the baggage to be locked and intact!)

So, if he flunked on his protocol, why should a passenger pay for that!! I mean, should he be humiliated, targeted, harassed like that!!??

KG has threatened them with a defamation suit! And since then his phone has not stopped ringing. And you know who is at the other end!!

Friday’s 55 Fiction : So Close, Yet So…

55 Fiction is a form of micro-fiction that refers to the works of fiction limited to a maximum of fifty-five words.

So Close, Yet So…

“Damn!” she said, as he helped her pick the fallen tomatoes. A coy “Thanks” and two smiles were exchanged, that day and then every day.

Some long chats… shared laughter… growing together …blissful moments later she mused, “When you click together, you are bound to leap into the future mentally”.

And, he answered, “I can’t.”



Image Courtesy : http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/action/large/2132686.jpg

What A Mess…

The mess has been sorted out. Thank you guys!! :)

“Mrs. Joe was a very clean housekeeper, but had an exquisite art of making her cleanliness more uncomfortable and unacceptable than dirt itself.” wrote the great Charles Dickens in Great Expectations.

And till half an ago, I was a mirror image of Mrs. Joe and would have loved being one forever, much to the chagrin, annoyance and irritation of KG and AG.

Not any more…

Because, today my penchant for cleanliness has made me uncomfortable, annoyed, irritated and frustrated too!!

I like to keep my home clean and clutter free.
And I like to keep my technical soul mate ie my laptop clean and clutter free too.

All obsolete files, cookies, downloaded web pages, images, data is promptly deleted after use! And I keep doing this exercise very frequently!! I know, its madness!!

And today, while I was racking my brain for a new blog post with the blank page of Windows Live Writer on the screen. (I type my posts in Windows Live Writer and publish the same from this application on to my Blog!!) Suddenly my tired eyes see the Drafts on the right side of the pane. And the cleanliness freak in me woke up and one by one I deleted all the Draft blog posts which I felt were useless and were just limiting the space on my system’s 30.8 GB Free Space!!

So once the Drafts were spotlessly clean, I moved on to the Recently posted section. My dead brain thought that these Recently Posted posts are already on the Blog, so they can be deleted from the Windows Live Writer and in quick succession, deleted the THREE recently posted blog posts!

And would had deleted some more….thanks to AG who needed me for something. When I returned back to my laptop, I thought of checking my Blog statistics. On opening the blog home page, a post dated November 1st was first to be seen.
Quickly, I clicked here, there, up, down, Dashboard, Settings and no sign of the last 3 posts!!

And in a flash of a second, I realized the sequence of events!!
And God! Am I shattered!!???

My last 3 posts…

• Some Introspection dated 13th November
• If I Were A Baby dated 7th November…the Blog-a-Ton entry!
• Those 15 Minutes of… dated 4th November

ARE NO LONGER ON MY BLOG!!!
ARE NO LONGER ON MY LAPTOP!!

Have checked the IndiVine @ IndiBlogger and the NetworkedBlogs on Facebook…alas, they just have the first few words of the post!!

I feel this is the gravest mistake of my life!! I don’t know what to do and how to retrieve them and from where??

And now I am feeling annoyed, ashamed, bitchy, bitter, broken hearted, concerned, crabby, dazed, depressed, disgusted, dumb, edgy, embarrassed, emotional, flabbergasted, fed-up, freaked out, frustrated, guilty, irritated, jumbled, loser, mournful, nervous, pissed off, ranty, restless, sad, shocked, silly, sorry, stressed, sweaty, tired, torn-up, weary and WTF?????…all at one go!!

God! What a mess???

What do I do now??

Any advice??

Some Introspection...

It happened while surfing the net. Read one, then read some more and then started reading many more. And I liked the ideas shared, thoughts expressed, opinions voiced or even plain chatter.

Whenever, had a lil’ more time or was bored or didn't had anything great on the cards, I would read them. And the time would just fly!

Yeah, you got it right, I am talking about Blogs!

And then one fine day, a dear friend MM pushed me to create one of my own. And “A rose is a rose is a rose!” was born. With a lot of apprehensions, I explored this new realm.

Initially had to prod and pester family and friends to read and comment on my blog…so much so that a mere mention of my blog and they’d either vanish or change the topic of conversation!! What a pest I must have been!!

Slowly and steadily, had some regular readers. And with them my horizon increased. Through them I explored their worlds too.

And thus, today I feel I have a huge chunk of blogs on my plate which I want to savor, soak, and support. But am I able to do so??

The answer is not completely!!

In a short span of time, I have found a variety of blogs which I read/want to read.

• There are some mandatory reading blogs…you have to read them, because you just love reading them!
• And some are friendship blogs…dosti ki hai to nibhani bhi padegi, so you got to read their blogs too!
• Then there are request blogs…"Please check out my latest post or you have not read my last post".
• Also, some new ones for the week/day, courtesy Blogadda Picks and IndiVine @ IndiBlogger.
• Then some are casual acquaintances blogs, you read their comment on some blog and like their ideas so you move to check out their blog!
• Of course, the very important people on your own blog…the followers and commenters…their blogs form a must read list too.
• And some ‘once upon a time’ blogs…you read them earlier but no longer now.

And despite my best intentions, I miss out on a huge number. Excuses Distractions are many…phone calls, work, or Google Talk or FB chat or time to harvest the crop at FV or even long posts!

I wonder, if it’s only my story!


Various thoughts are passing by, to rectify this situation…

• Should I make a schedule…Blogs A to E on Mondays…F to J on… (I know…it’s maddening!)
• Should I dedicate 1 hour everyday for dedicated blog reading??
• Should focus more on blogs rather than playing addictive games on FB??

Whatever, it is, I guess, it’s time to pull up my socks!!
What say you??

Image Courtesy : http://cnx.org

If I Were A Baby Again…

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 4; the fourth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

If I were a baby again…oh, what a beautiful thought!!



I believe, I would like to initiate my journey as a baby from my  mother’s womb.
Where while sucking on my thumb, I would have had communication with my mother.
I would have loved that physical, spiritual and emotional journey with my mother.

On arrival in this world, I would have loved to see the love for me in the eyes of my parents. Their care and nurturing would have developed me. Their delight at me making vowel  noises or my first sounds of ‘mumum’ and ‘dada’ or babbling at 2-3 words repeatedly would delight me to no end. My parents clicking pictures or making videos of me for each and every move of mine would make me feel like a princess.

I would have hid behind my mother whenever I met a stranger. I would drop toys and watch where they go. My parents happiness on seeing me stand while holding the furniture to walking alone and then running everywhere around the home would motivate me to explore my potential further.

If I were a baby again, I would not give my parents sleepless nights because of my insomnia or tantrums, after all they need to rest after taking care of a bundle of energy like me the whole day.


If I were a baby again, I would eat everything that my mother ever wanted me to have (from the spinach soup to khichdi to milk in a glass to dal and chapati, without ever  doing ‘phuuur…phuur’ or refusing to open my mouth or cry inconsolably at the sight of food!

I would learn and explore the world through my parents’ and teacher’s eyes. Soaking in all the knowledge that came my way.

If I were a baby again, I would enjoy the beauty of life each day and never ever forgetting the lesson learnt.

I would throw less temper tantrums (I know, though they are a part of me growing all up!!), thereby giving some peace of mind to my parents.

If I were a baby again, I’d make my parents proud of me.

If I were a baby again, I would thank God each moment, each day for handing me over from his loving kingdom to the most loving parents and family down here, on this earth!!

 

Images Courtesy: http://static.howstuffworks.com & http://www.marypages.com

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Those 15 Minutes of…

It was the perfect day for a garden party. The air had a bit of pleasant chill…we were having a gala time with our friends from the past and the present.
All were dressed in black and red…Fun, excitement, laughter and sunshine was the order of the day. What a scene!
And then a voice asked, “What’s in you plate?”.

And I opened my eyes…

And except for the pleasant chill in the room, there were no friends in black and red or laughter or excitement…
There were loud snores of KG and the clock showing 7:15 am!!
And the very next thought….the school bus arrives at 7.30 am!!!
And I had overslept!!

In a flash, I was in the baby’s room…woke the sleepy kid and rushed him into the bathroom…took out his uniform, towels etc and rushed into the kitchen.

The overactive grey cells ordered me to make a quick Omelette Sandwich.
And in the hurry, dropped one egg…watched the yolk and the egg white gliding smoothly from the base (inside) of the fridge to the floor below. Leaving that mess as it was, hurried to make the Omelette, and while tossing it, it all went hay-wire and thus converted it into scrambled eggs. Thank God! But the baby is not going to like it!

And just then the baby comes and tells me that the zipper of the jacket of his tracksuit is stuck. (The winter sports uniform for Wednesdays is Tracksuit!!). I immediately shoo him to wake his dad.

With a glass of milk, lunch box and water bottle, when I entered the room, I saw KG struggling with pliers!! And next moment, a metal dropped on the floor and the 2 sides of the jacket are free but without the zipper slider!! Gosh!! I took the baby from his ‘helpful’ dad and had a tough not so tough time convincing him to wear the jacket without zipping it all up and would get it rectified for the next Wednesday!

The sweet kid, though was not happy with the situation, accepted it without any tantrums.

In the mean time, remembered that he had to take Rs. 240 for a magazine subscription. Had to search 2 purses for the 40 Rupees change.

And somehow with the school bag, skates bag and water bottle, we went down the stairs and then the kid asked, “Did you put my Computers book and copy?”
Me :  “You don’t have a Computers period today!”
He : “Mam has asked to get it today and the timetable has changed!”
Me : “You didn't tell me about the new timetable!!”
He : “We have not got the new one as yet, but I need the Computers book and copy today.”

With a ‘smile’, I climbed 16 steps up and then down again, got his Computer book and copy!
And just then, the bus honked at the corner.

Both of us ran to catch it!!

That was some hectic activity early morning…it felt as if I was up for 15 hours!!

When I returned home, KG was laughing out loud at some silly SMSes on his mobile!!
Grrrr……

Best Wishes Always…

A phone call from a friend in the afternoon and a sinking feeling had formed its home in my mind and heart.

This news was not something new to me. But the suddenness of it shocked me. Even, we have been a part of this many times, in so many years!

But, I guess, certain things are a little difficult to take in.

 

Our friends are being transferred from here to a new place.

 

We had met them just 10 months ago! And we kind of bonded instantly! In a short span of time, our relationship grew and matured.

 

A weekend lunch at our place would end in dinner at their place.

Impromptu or planned picnics or getting together for potluck parties was always fun.

Chatting and gossiping or playing Scrabble or Pictionary made the time fly!!

Or just enjoying the togetherness while we played FarmVille on our respective laptops…

 

And now all that would be missed.

 

Of course, we will be in touch…emails, FB chats, phone calls or even meeting each other whenever possible, but will it be the same??

 

I have seen, how every-day to weekly communication after the move, turn into some times in a month calls to Holi-Diwali wishes calls!!

Of course, when you meet again…everything is just the same…the easy banter, the fun and carefree times…it’s like you were never apart!!

 

But…

 

I guess, I should be happy for our friends and their new adventure in a new city and should not be focusing so much on what I’d (we’d) be losing.

 

After all life is all about movements and changes.

 

I am glad RT and AP that our paths crossed!! Thank you for everything!!

 

Best wishes always…

 

 

Image Courtesy : http://www.sixdogstudio.com

2 Tags and a Report Card of Fellow Bloggers!

Am doing tags after ages!!
I had been tagged for these Tags by Shas, Mrigank and Avada

TAG 1 : Innocent… or Guilty?

RULE 1- You can only say Guilty or Innocent.
RULE 2- You are not allowed to explain anything unless someone messages you and asks!
RULE 3- Copy and paste this into your notes, delete my answers, type in your answers and tag to your friends to answer this.



Asked someone to marry you? Innocent
Ever kissed someone of the same sex? Guilty
Danced on a table in a bar? Innocent
Ever told a lie? Guilty
Had feelings for someone whom you can’t have back? Guilty
Kissed a picture? Guilty
Slept in until 5 PM? Guilty
Fallen asleep at work/school? Guilty
Held a snake? Innocent
Been suspended from school? Innocent
Worked at a fast food restaurant? Innocent
Stolen from a store? Innocent
Been fired from a job? Innocent
Done something you regret? Guilty
Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? Innocent
Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Innocent
Kissed in the rain? Innocent
Sat on a roof top? Guilty
Kissed someone you shouldn’t? Guilty
Sang in the shower? Guilty
Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? Innocent
Shaved your head? Innocent
Had a boxing membership? Innocent
Made a girlfriend cry? Guilty
Been in a band? Innocent
Shot a gun? Guilty
Donated Blood? Innocent
Eaten alligator meat? Innocent
Eaten cheesecake? Guilty
Still love someone you shouldn’t? Guilty
Have/had a tattoo? Innocent
Liked someone, but will never tell who? Guilty
Been too honest? Guilty
Ruined a surprise? Guilty
Ate in a restaurant and got really bloated that you couldn’t walk afterwards? Guilty
Erased someone in your friends list? Guilty
Dressed in a woman’s clothes (if you’re a guy) or man’s clothes (if you’re a girl)? Guilty
Joined a pageant? Innocent
Been told that you’re handsome or beautiful by someone who totally meant what they said? Guilty
Had communication with your ex? Guilty
Got totally drunk on the night before exam? Innocent
Got totally angry that you cried so hard? Guilty

Guilty for just 23/42…. Well, that’s experience!! :D

TAG 2 : How DUMB are you?

The more [x]’ s the “dumber” you are.

[] Gum has fallen out of your mouth when you were talking
[] Gum has fallen out of your mouth when you were NOT talking
[x] You have ran into a glass/screen door
[] You have jumped out of a moving vehicle
[x] You have thought of something funny while walking by yourself
[x] Laughed, then watched people give you weird looks
[] You have run into a tree/bush.
[] You know that it IS possible to lick your elbow
[] You have tried to lick your elbow… a few times
[x] You never knew that the Alphabet and Twinkle Twinkle Little star have the same rhythm.
[x] You just tried to sing them.

So far: 5

[] You have tripped on your shoelace and fallen.
[] You have choked on your own spit .
[] You have seen the Matrix and still don’t get it.
[] You’ve never seen the Matrix.
[] You type only with two fingers.
[x] You have accidentally caught something on fire.
[] You tried to drink out of a straw, but it went into your nose/eyes.
[x] You have caught yourself drooling.
[] You have fallen asleep in class and fell outta your chair

So far: 7

[x] Sometimes you just stop thinking (most of the time I wont think about anything).
[x] You are telling a story and forget what you were talking about.
[] People often shake their heads and walk away from you.
[] You are often told to use your “inside voice”.
[x] You use your fingers to do simple math.
[x] You have eaten a bug.
[] You are taking this test when you should be doing something more important.
[x] You have put your clothes on backwards or inside out, and didn’t realize it.
[x] You’ve looked all over for something and realized it was in your hand.
[] You have ran around naked in your house.

So far: 13

[] You repost bulletins because you are scared that what they say will happen to you if you didn’t.
[] You break a lot of things.
[] Your friends know not to use big words around you.
[] You tilt your head when you’re confused.
[] You have fallen out of your chair before.
[] When you’re lying in bed, you try to find pictures in the texture of the ceiling or wall.
[] The word “ummmmm” is used many times a day.

TOTAL: 13

Even I am (13/37)*100 = 35.14% DUMB !

And now the Report Card of Fellow Bloggers on these Tags!

Tag 1 : Innocent or Guilty

Blogger	Guilty (Out of 42)
Shankar	25
Shilpa Sharma	14
Dhiman	13
Avada	16
Sid ‘Ravan’ Kabe	31
Guria	20
Bharathi	17
Shilpa Garg Shruti Rahul Shahid Nishita Priyan Amrit	23 13 22 26 14 19 29
Verdict	High scores mean experience!! The only source of knowledge is experience!! Low score denotes innocence. But guys, be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience!! Cheers :)

Tag 2 : How DUMB are you?

Blogger	Score
Shankar	10/37
Shilpa Sharma	14/37
Dhiman	14/37
Avada	13/37
Sid ‘Ravan’ Kabe	24/37
Guria	13/37
Bharathi	9/37
Shilpa Garg	13/37
Shas	16/40
Mrigank Shruti Rahul Shahid Nishita Priyan	17/40 17/37 28/40 16/37 10/37 17/37
Verdict	Birds of a feather flock together!! Cheers :)

I tag Avdi, Nishita, Amrit, Prashansa, Kavita Saharia, Neha, Kaddu, Rohitha, Lakshmi Rajan, Shahid Mukadam, Seema Syed,  Pawan, RSV, Swapna Raghu Sanand, Indian Home Maker, Reema, Roshmi, Chetan, Jon, Naveen, The Butterfly Diaries, Aativas, Whats In A Name and all others who have not done these tags and would like to take them up!!!

Images Courtesy: http://www.thorswarriors.com & http://angrygrayrainbows.wordpress.com