Category: Literary Pursuits

Books I’ve read and stories/poems I’ve written.

Mihir Learns to Golf

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Golf

This micro-story was my first entry for a recent story writing contest at Accenture (results have yet to be declared). The contest was about writing a moral-supported tiny story based on a set of given pictures. I wrote mine around picture above, one of the six provided.

It’s a cheesy kids’ story with a happy ending. Oh yes, if you are wondering about golf in evening, well, it’s summers!

Prologue
A 12 year old Mihir had this bad habit of finishing his homework fast, never bothering about accuracy, to satisfy his mom, who wouldn’t allow him to go play with friends before homework was finished. Mihir followed a similar approach when preparing for tests.

I
One afternoon, he came home weeping. As he entered, he saw not only his mom at the dining table, but also his dad, who had come home early. His weeping became hard.

“Come here,” Dad called out from the table. Mihir slowly trotted to near his dad’s chair. Dad removed the sheet of paper from Mihir’s hand that he was hiding behind his back.

“Six out of twenty, in Maths,” Dad announced. He looked at Mom, who defensively added “I keep on telling him to study more carefully. This is what happens…” She was interrupted as Dad gestured to calm the angry Mom. Dad turned to Mihir.

“Do you want to come along for golf in the evening?”

Mihir shook his head.

“Don’t look at Mom. She’ll be fine. Be ready at 5.”

II
At the golf course, Mihir carried around his Dad’s kit to fulfill his caddie duties. Spotting a good location, his Dad halted. He grounded the tee, placed the ball, and swung his club. The ball landed near the 1st hole. Mihir followed his Dad to the hole and watched him carelessly putt the ball, which overshot the hole by a good margin.

“Dad,” cried out Mihir, “you ought to hit it slowly.”

Dad went to the ball, took his time to aim carefully, and, this time, hit it gently along the green. Mihir watched it drop into the hole.

“Yay! You did it, Dad!” exclaimed a cheery Mihir.

“Do you know why the ball went right into the hole this time around?”

“Why, you played more carefully.”

“Exactly! And this is how you can improve your test results too…” Dad continued to explain to Mihir how he was not aiming right and driving his studies hastily. Mihir listened to his father inquisitively and promised to apply the lesson learned.

Epilogue
In his next Math test, Mihir got 15 out of 20, his all-time best.

Sherlock and other things

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Holmes & Watson
Holmes & Watson

These days I’m obsessed with Sherlock Holmes. He’s a genius, a detective, a scientist, a consultant, a violinist, a boxer, and yet he doesn’t know (or doesn’t care to know) that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Why? Because “that’s too useless an information to store in the limited-capacity brain.” But wait! He’s a drug addict too (cocaine & morphine), and is emotionally detached in every possible way from the rest of the world. In short, he’s a perfect anti-hero.

I know Sherlock Holmes since my childhood, like most children do, but my interest in the character rose substantially only after watching Robert Downey Jr.’s 2009 hit Sherlock Holmes. After a year or so, I bought my first Sherlock Holmes novel, which is basically a compilation of the most popular of his short stories. And boy, I was mighty impressed with the writing style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It furthered my interest in the character Holmes, and soon I found myself downloading The Return of Sherlock Holmes in iBooks on my iPod. I get time to read this book only during my hometown-to-worktown journey, and I now have only a couple of stories left to complete the novel.

Very recently I discovered the TV mini-series Sherlock, and was immediately hooked to it. The series mainly focuses on the sociopath nature of Holmes, who is portrayed more anti-heroic than in the movie series. Certainly a must watch for any Holmes fan (even non fans will absolutely love it). I came to love Dr. Watson (played wonderfully by Martin Freeman, who’s also playing Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming The Hobbit) as much as the protagonist himself. And if you do watch the series, don’t forget to check out its companion websites Dr. Waston’s blog and Sherlock Holmes’ website, especially the blog.

On another note, we’re already into the final stages of French Open, and I’m supporting Federer over Djoker in the semis. Also, Euro 2012 starts tomorrow, and I’m very excited. Germany for me all the way. All you Indian football fans, check out this marvelous Euro 2012 schedule (all times in IST).

Poem – Insaan

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I don’t write many Hindi poems, but this is one of those few.

मैं जवान हूँ,
मैं तूफ़ान हूँ.
छू नहीं सकते तुम मुझे,
मैं आसमान हूँ.

दोस्तों का दोस्त हूँ,
दुश्मनों के लिए हैवान हूँ.
प्यार करते हैं लोग मुझे,
मैं हर लड़की की जान हूँ.

जाता हूँ जहाँ,
मैं तो रंग जमा देता हूँ.
कहते हैं लोग मुझे,
मैं हर महफ़िल की शान हूँ.

गुरूर है खुद पर मुझे,
और उससे ज़ियादा विश्वास है.
सचाई से करता हूँ सिर्फ जो ठीक लगे,
इसी लिए मैं खुद का अभिमान हूँ.

सोच रहे होंगे हजूर यह अहंकारी कौन है,
हाँ हूँ अहंकारी मैं, मगर
चलता हूँ ईमान से.
मैं पुरखों का ज्ञान हूँ, पंडितों का ध्यान हूँ.

दौलत नहीं है पास न ही शौहरत है साथ,
लेकिन जज़्बा है सब पाने का.
उस जज़्बे के इलावा,
मैं तो एक साधारण इंसान हूँ. [२]

What to Write Tonight

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Wrote this one last Sunday. A short story depicted as a poem.

Crowded Market
Courtsey http://www.photobridge.nl/?p=483

Having finished all work,
I’m bored to the core.
There’s no movie on TV,
and no friends galore.

A novel should I read,
or a story should I write?
Time’s in plenty, so I should write,
but really, what to write tonight?

Several ideas striking my mind,
but none too cool and much exquisite.
Change of setting perhaps I need,
a crowded place I need to visit.

Should I go to the market,
or go to the mall?
Fresh air and people all around,
that’s what I need and that’s just all.

Off to the market here I go,
the land full of people, activities and more.
With so much to see and so much to know,
hope I get an idea to further explore.

People, people fill the place,
and sizzling, dancing, colorful lights.
Happy faces, glowing bright,
away from stress and daily “fights”.

Should I write about that girl,
dazzling beauty, talking on her phone?
Or the cheerful couple, walking tight?
Or that stout man, cold as a drone?

What are those pricks, running around,
disturbing the scene, heavy on booze.
Whoa! Is that the actor I saw on TV?
Hell yeah, and that is some news.

Even that little kid can make up my story,
squinting around, looking amused.
So much to take, so much to write,
just the recipe to leave me confused.

Tired of thinking, I’m packing up,
and off I go, flying back home.
Lying on my bed, I’m thinking, I’m musing;
distracted so easily, my mind’s on a roam.

Here I am, still wondering in vain.
Seems I’ll spend all night,
still undecided on
what to write tonight.

Human Errors

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This was a short poem I wrote when I was in 11th standard (+1 class) in school, that got published in a reputed English daily The Tribune‘s weekly supplement “Windows”.

In spite of the fact that we are humans,
The most superior and intelligent of all creatures.
We make absurd mistakes,
Which are nothing else but
Hatred, disregard and contempt
Shown towards our mates.
Sometimes we are in a dilemma,
To do or not to do,
To accept or to contradict.
But who can predict,
The happenings that will be.
Someday, due to the foolish deeds of some bloke,
There will be suffering all around.
And for this, only humans will carry the blame,
Because they would be the only one
Who played the game.