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Showing posts with label Jatin H K Sharma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jatin H K Sharma. Show all posts

Saturday, 3 May 2014

Postcard To The Librarian

Dear Ms. Librarian,

I hope you are well. I am a regular reader, and have visited your library quite often. Almost every weekend, if nothing came up at work or home. I spent numerous hours there. Sometimes, it goes past the closing hours, and you happily extend it by 15-20 minutes, so that I could finish what I started.

There is a reason why I read. I read because it helps me to learn, to understand, to grow. Different books, styles of writing, stories, poems, articles, etc. all of them fascinate me. My elders told me that there is no end to the learning, and that one is and must be a student throughout his/ her life. Books are one of the means of learning, and so I follow this hobby.

Over the years, I have visited different book stores and libraries in search of various kinds of books. But for last 7 months, I've paid many visits to your library. What is so different here that attracts me? You are the difference. Forgive me for being blunt. And this is not a letter for re-issuing a book either.

You must have identified who I am. I'm sorry that I never asked your name, or ever told mine. I never got any books issued, but kept coming to the library to read here. I'm sorry for not paying a visit through last few weeks.

I still remember the first time we had a talk. You said, "Hi". I said, "Hello". And then we discussed what I was reading. For a change, I was reading "I too had a love story - by Ravinder Singh". I was stuck on a particular page for more than 10 minutes, and you seemed to observe that from a distance. So you came up to me and asked, "Any problem?" "No, I was just finishing the book." "OK. Don't take me wrong, but you're stuck on this page for like more than 10 minutes." "Hahaha!" I Laughed. "That's a first time. I don't have experience with girls staring at me that long." "Hahaha", you blushed a little and said, "That's a curse actually. I am a librarian, you see. I'm a reader by default. I read everything."  

OK! Now that was a catchy line, and I was impressed I swear!!! 

"So what did you read?" "Well, for starters, this is not the first time you are reading this book, and" "And?" "You're able to relate a short part of your life with this page." Now I didn't know how to react on your observation. "Yes, you're right." I said with a smile. " I don't know how many times I've read this book, but the most intriguing chapter of the book have always been the same. The page where Khushi and Ravinder met each other in that hotel room. Their first face to conversation with each other, when no one was around. It made me remember my first time." "I had something similar my first time too." You said and continued. "So that makes two of us. It's a long lost story though." "Same here." I said.

From that day, I made a habit of visiting the library, hoping to see you, talk to you. You were no different. You always used to give me good references to read. Philosophy, Science, Love, Autobiographies. One names it, and you show up with the best ones. I think you have read me and my mood in the best way, because you always had the right choice of books based on my mood. I never told you how I felt, but you always knew somehow. Everything you did while keeping a fair distance and with true impartiality with other readers of the library. And every single day, it made me like you even more.

I don't know anything about you, and you probably wouldn't know me either. But as you are a good reader, I know you will be able to understand a little bit of me through this letter. I have been away from the library to see if I really felt anything for you, or was it just infatuation. I don't know if you missed me, but I surely missed you.

And so I am asking you to let me read you. I am asking you to issue a book on my name, and the name of this book is "You, the librarian.". So to start things again, would you tell me your name?
RSVP. My address is on the back of this post card. I'll be waiting.

With love,
Jatin
A Reader
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Wednesday, 12 June 2013

The Frame Of Mind: Part 4



Part 4: The first taste of liquor-1


Present Day: 6th June 2012
I was standing by the bus stand, waiting for my bus (No. 545). One of the advantages of being in the city like Mumbai, there are buses and local trains connecting almost all the parts of the city. We only need to ask the fellow passengers, and they will happily guide you through. Some may even stand up along with you if they are to get down at the same stop, or the next one.
The bus was late than its usual arrival, and I saw a few boys dragging one of their friends to the nearby liquor shop. As far as I could hear, it was his birthday, and that it was his queue for funding the party that day. It took me back to my college days, and the day I tasted it for the first time. 

The Liquor Day...
Back in the college days: 24th April’07.
Still trying to overcome the aftershock, I had cut myself out of the league of friends. I used to spend more time with myself. Rohit called me several times that day. When I did not pick the calls, he dropped by at my place. My mother told him that I was studying in my room, and kept my phone outside. I lied. 

He knocked at my door and stepped in. He saw some old notes scattered around, with the AIEEE question bank open on the table. The exam was around the corner, and I was trying as hard as I can to clear this exam and leave JEC. The sooner I do the better. I thought. 

But Rohit was no kid. He understood that I was bluffing. He could see the scribbled notes, and observed that the preparation isn’t taking me anywhere. But he kept the thought to himself and told me that I needed some fresh air. I nodded. Rohit told my parents that we will be staying at Ankit's place for some studies. I took my Backpack and followed him to his bike. 10 minutes later, we were driving through the MR4 towards Civic Center, where Anand and Ankit were already waiting for us. They had plans... all of them. The script had been written, and Rohit was the director.

Civic Center was in the heart of town. There were big restaurants, Gadget shops, banks, Malls and Shopping complexes (under construction). But our interest was not in the big restaurants. Instead, we enjoyed the coldness of air on the grass of the huge garden, right at the center of the area. Under the light of the stars, and an occasional tube light like feeling every 30 days (you know what I’m talking about) it was the best place to discuss the lives of college (and beyond sometimes).  At least for the four of us it was.

To be continued...

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Saturday, 27 October 2012

The Frame Of Mind: Part 3



The Accident...

I could feel the pain in Rashi’s heart today. As soon as she told me about her dad, I held her close to me. “You have to get yourself up, OK!” I said. “He’s still in ICU. Doctors are looking after him. We all will pray for him. Everything will be alright.” And we rushed to her home in Kachnar City. She packed her things up. Her mom had booked tickets for Rashi and herself in the morning itself.

I called up a nearby auto rickshaw to take us to the station. In the meantime, Ankit and Rohit arrived at Rashi’s place with fruits and snacks for the journey. I handed over my bike's keys to Rohit, so that he could bring the bike to station, while I go in the auto with both the ladies. All the while, aunt was busy having frequent calls to Rashi’s cousin, Akshay, who was attending uncle at the hospital till they arrived, regarding the news at hospital.
We reached station well in time to catch the train. Ankit and Rahul reached the station before us, and helped us in carrying the luggage. No matter how cool both of them were trying to act, it was clear that they were feeling sad about what has happened. All the while they were there, they kept looking at Rashi, and then at me, when I gave them the expression of “Will you cut it out!!!”.
As soon as the green signal was given, I hugged them (Rashi and aunt) and asked them to keep calling me whenever they can. We all waved them good bye as the train started to leave for New Delhi. 

With the sound of the train running over the tracks, reverberated the sounds of those frequent phone calls, calls of worry, calls of asking, “Rahul beta, how’s Amol now?” “Did you talk to him?” “Is he alright?” “Where did they take him for operating?” And all I could say was, “Don’t worry aunty, I certainly hope he’s well.. I’ll call you as soon as I have any news.” Till then even I couldn’t  believe that he’s no more... It was the last day of our first semester exams... We were going home on his bike when a dumpster hit us from behind...

12th February’ 2007 01:18 PM
I picked myself up. With a sense of relief, I said, “Thank God!” And I turned to see where he was, Amol. I called for him, “Dude, get up.. Dude.. Amol.. Get up.. GET UP!!! ” He didn’t say a thing. He didn’t move. His eyes were closed. He didn’t get up. His face hit the ground on his left chin, I could see the bruises... His clothes were torn. I couldn’t understand what happened... I couldn’t picture it at all... With all my strength, I tried to pick him up... But I failed. There was blood all over. I tried to pump him, hoping that he’ll breathe, but no use. ... The crowd gathered at the location of accident five minutes later. Some of my friends arrived at the location, not knowing what happened, but acted instantly by taking him to the hospital in an auto rickshaw, because they felt that calling an ambulance at this hour would be a waste of time. I remained at the site and called Amol’s father about the incident. He told that he will reach the hospital as soon as possible. Anand came up by then. He and I went to Ranjhi Police Station to report the incident. All through this time, and for the next two hours, Amol’s mother kept calling me to get updates on Amol. It was sad, as no one else apart from me had a mobile phone that day. I kept assuring her that everything will be alright, and I kept assuring myself as well...

After filing the report and getting me treated (at Victoria Hospital), I was taken to Marvel City Hospital, where Amol had been admitted, and was later declared dead. Uncle was present there (to take his body home), and so was present the whole batch of EC 2010... 

All this time, I didn’t make a call at home. I could imagine the response at home. My father called me around 3 PM to check where I was. I told him about the accident, and he was shocked to hear that Amol was dead. I assured him that I was alright and will reach home soon.

One of my friends dropped me home... My mother rushed up to me and hugged me tight. That instance made me realize how painful it would be for her, Amol’s mother...

When I had a chance to meet her, she greeted me with a smile... I was told that she hadn't cried, hadn't shred even a single tear... I wasn't sure what I would say to her. My mother tried to talk to her, but she started crying instead... Amol's little brother Pallav kept asking me, "How did it happen? Was that painful? Did he say anything?" Uncle dragged him away, telling him that it wasn't the appropriate time to discuss that... I felt sorry for their loss...

The Bond...
The four of us, were not exactly four, but five... 
We used to roam around the city at nights, go for trips to hill stations (Pachmarhi being the favorite spot of all), take part in college events... calm down the fights...and study... I still remember that he came to my home to teach me Maths, when I was bedridden with Jaundice... He was incredible.

With Amol gone, it wasn’t easy for us to fill it in with someone else. That’s when we found Rashi... 
 
Now she was going through the same phase... All we could do was pray... (to be continued...)



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Monday, 15 October 2012

The Frame Of Mind: Part 2

.

Part 2: Who is Rashi?:

“Hey Rahul!”, shouted Anand. “We’ve been looking for ages, and you’re sitting here. What is it that dragged you here today?”
“It’s nothing”, I lied.
“Find yourself a lie detector, or are you trying to motivate me to make one?”
“Hahaha, you and lie detector! Give me a break”.
“Don’t you dare challenge me!!! ”

Anand had always been this sort. He got serious this time, fading away from the thought that they had come here to tell me something.

“Hey you guys sort that once we leave college today. We’ve come here to tell you that Rashi is looking for you. I guess you’ve lost another one of her assignments this time!!! She’s crying in the common room...” infuriated Rohit blurted out in a flash...

Rashi (the only girl I was friendly with), if not for the sake of publicity, never cry for a silly thing like assignments. We met for the first time in the ED workshop, where I had asked her for an eraser. An (almost) always sincere and decent boy at school, I never forgot silly things like pencils or erasers, ever. But somehow I used to forget (intentionally probably) once I got into the college. Eraser was only a gateway to find a way to talk to her. Surprizingly, Rashi never got irritated in sharing her things with me. All the time I’ve known her, she has always been possessive about the things she owned: her stationary, her bag, her scooty, her friends... 

That’s Rashi: An ambitious girl, good at painting, loves drama and pranks, and most importantly, we sort of liked each other... So I could call her my girlfriend.

But why was she crying? As soon as I received this information, I rushed towards the common room. I snatched the water bottle from Ankit and did not mind his ruthless face expression on that. I know he will get through it :P... But Rashi.... GOD Rashi... "why the hell is she crying!!! Something's wrong!!!"

The Girls Common Room (GCR) was situated right beside the Chemistry Department of the college. This place has been the safest place for the new comers (freshers). Surrounded by Professors and Readers all around, no creepy senior could roam anywhere near this place! That was where we used to have lunch together, right outside the GCR, all of us : Anand, Rohit, Ankit, Rashi and me. She was comfortable with all of us, and she was a sweet heart to us all, and everyone else was jealous of this...

The moment she saw me, she ran towards me and placed her head down on my shoulder. I knew that something was terribly wrong. I gave her the bottle of water and asked her to calm down and tell me everything.
“Daddy met with an accident. A truck ran over him when he was returning back from office. I need to leave for Delhi right away... Couldn’t tell anyone else.” and she broke again...
I knew why she told that only to me. First, because she can trust me with anything and everything, and secondly, I had an equally bad experience with a terrible accident myself... (to be continued....)


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The Frame Of Mind: Part 1



The Frame Of Mind: Part 1

One Day, I, Rahul (that's my name!!!), and a few of my friends, Ankit, Rohit and Anand, were discussing our day-to-day lives, work, education, love stories, etc. During the discussion, we observed that a lot has changed in due time. Lets go a little backwards...


Four years back from now: June’2008

I, Rahul,  Age 21, was a student in the second year of a renowned institute in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. My best friends Ankit, Rohit and Anand were searching out for me, who was sitting by the beautiful lake behind the college campus. They came sprinting along when I told them I was here. That was never a strange site for them once they knew me well. Whenever I am not in a good mood, and want to spend some time alone, I used to go to a very few selected places. This was one of them. It was calm out here, with the cool breeze running through the hairs, as if it is someone’s hand. Previously, all my classmates used to think that I am a weird, keeping myself away from all of them. If that was true in any sense, I wouldn’t have found these friends.

Ankit had a very simple and straight formula for success: Work in a well established firm for a couple of years and then study abroad.

Rohit: He just wanted to get a highly paid job.

Anand: He was a visionary. He wanted to bring a revolution in the new generation. This, he thought, could be achieved by creating awareness about education.

I, on the other hand, had a dream, of establishing a musical studio, or even better (or worse), create awareness about music in the remotest parts of the country.

Somehow, there was something that connected us all. It was the unity of thoughts. We always used to support each others’ decisions, and if required suggested better ways of doing things. We studied together, stared at girls together, rode in the darkest parts of the city at night, went to temples (Patbaba being the favourite of all). Besides all of that, everyone among us was sure that we will achieve in life what we wished for, but hardly anyone of us knew, what was about to follow... (to be continued...)

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Thursday, 27 September 2012

Lost....

"I was late, but I was there....
Don't know what happened,
but so Lost I am now,
don't know where..."

And the story just ended (even before it could start)...
He's happy and sad at the same time.... Mixed feelings.... doesn't know where he's going... God help him find his way.... He is "Lost"...

Lost in Time,
Lost in Tide,
Lost in Noon,
Lost at Night

Lost in the Darkness of his past...

Can anybody show him the light of the present and the way towards the future, or best, give him the tool to dig his own...? Coz, he's "Lost"... and lost badly.

--Jatin H K Sharma
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