Man at the petrol bunk

Statutory Warning: This is a work of fiction. Has no relation to living or dead. Any such parallels are co-incidental.
I am a Bangalorean. In fact I am from a town nearby, a small village to give the precise information. This is my story, it is short, i do not find it particularly sweet myself; anyway who am I to judge? I had a pleasant childhood with a lot of emphasis on values and cultural ethos, learning etc. I don't seem to have them any more, possibly I never had them. My Appa(father) was a clerk at the DC office, and we were 4 kids to him and amma(mother) who was a home-maker. I was the 2nd, neither too young in the family nor too old. I was very different from my siblings, well i never did learn the life of the educated Kan-Bram. My elder brother, was so damn good, he had the ability to fight, fight it down, in whatever he stumbled upon. Learning the verses came to him, quite easily. He performed puja once in a while, under the supervision of appa. Those were not good times for me. I stuttered while learning these things. It seemed beyond my grasp, I gave up. Schools weren't a happy ground either. I flunked a couple of times, and then i stopped. Stopped going to school, in fact. Well, my younger sister was darling in the house, and she seemed smart and affable to all. She and the younger brother, were pride of the town, they had something like Midas touch to whatever they did. Not that they always sailed smoothly, but to fight was natural to them. I made some friends in the neighborhood, but they left soon, some to study, some similar to me worked at the local and nearby areas.
Time just flew by. I lived care-free and like an animal.
I shifted to Bangalore, when appa told me to work because everybody was doing something and I was doing nothing. I did odd chores, got tired everyday and slept.
My elder brother became a doctor and stayed back at the town, everybody knows him now. The other two are in the US of A. They are returning soon, the last time heard about them.
These days, I take take care of the air division at the local petrol bunk. It is tiring, but satisfying.
I had the facilities, to be better off. But I never did use them, ignored them in fact.
We got to what we got to do, I tell myself at times.

Tour de Malleshwaram!

Among the many areas I like in Bengaluru, M'waram is one of them. Wide roads, huge trees, 'known' people(the genre that is!) etc makes it something like a cosy little home! Met some junta one after the other. Some i keep meeting, some it had been more than a year. Well, it was a nice time I had and I shall stop talking about the fun and all that just about n0w :)
Interesting things happen on the road, and just after the ice-creams at Amrith (divine/heavenly!) , i had some time to kill. I walked on the 4th main, where i saw a couple having a very interesting discussion. I would love to describe them, but this new species is difficult to understand. The gaarl probably was planning to buy a car, and our baay saw the opportunity and swooped in, talking about the physics of power, pick-up etc. Giving suitable gyaan at the right times, he grew in confidence, not that he knew, but probably because she did not understand! The last I heard was "Tum AutoCar India nahi padti ho?" accompanied by a baay's sheepish grin and a giggle from the gaarl.
I walked along thinking, is selling everything :) Even aliens make progress, only by selling !!

Mediocrity

"Mediocre!", she mentioned before the movie ended. Quite puzzled and inquisitive to know the reasons for her judgments, he snapped back saying, "The movie has been running for 5 weeks and houseful". "But that is popular opinion and that need not mean that the people watching this 70 mm are right", said she almost responding. "Popular opinion does count." he argued. "It does?" she questioned. Then they left the theater.

Once into his shell, he never bothered to look outside. Disconnected and disjointed from the rest of the world, he seemed prehistoric. Minimal, in terms of words and fashion, he was neat in his own way. When he walked on the busy roads, people did not notice him, partly because he walked as if he never existed. He talked only, when was spoken to. Arrogant, some scoffed, shy, others concluded.
Neighbors knew little of him. Gossip mongers had news about him floating in air. It had hit him many times, making him smile.
Once, somebody questioned his marital status, who was reading a book by Mr. Chandrasekhar.
"How do you like the book" he replied.
"I love all of his books. But you did not answer the question?" he chuckled.
"Married with 2 kids. " he said. "BTW, I don't know why Mr. Chandrasekhar writes these books anyway. Moron! ", he walked away.

Giving up

"It feels like giving up" she mentioned before she bought the Diesel Honda City 1.3, her first car.
A friend of her and the sales person had a confused glance at each other, neither understanding, nor questioning her.

The Journey

"We've been through a lot together" she said, looking disoriented. He nodded, rather vigorously, not speaking a word in disagreement. He noticed, she wore plain clothes and looked much more dull than before. "We have to part ways" he said breaking the uneasy silence. "Yeah" she sighed. He looked taller than the first time she saw him, she concluded.
The journey was over they agreed in silence.
The train hooted again and soon started moving inch by inch and then a little faster. "Bye" she whispered with a smile known to him. "Take care" he mentioned.
"Until next time"!
They had reached their destinations. Only the journey remained, the 10 PM to 5AM next day, with the spiced Chai and the early morning!

You cannot break me, coz you did not make me !

Plagiarism. Flicked the topic from a movie 'The Hurricane' which i watched yesterday. Well, the movie could have been better but it still good enough to show the human spirit. Also, in a very sensitive way it portrays the mechanics of the weak human mind even when the spirit is so strong, that it raises beyond the human and physical barriers. Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter is a boxer who is charged and proven guilty for the alleged murder of a group of 'white' people in a bar in New Jersey. Innocent , he is, but the manipulation of witnesses and the erstwhile law sees him lose two trials in the State court if New Jersey and is sentenced for life imprisonment. Initially, he refuses to accept the rules of the prison, and solitary confinement is what he gets for the rebellion. He confronts himself and stays away from reaching a mental deluge.
He starts to 'do the time' refusing to be one amongst them. Writing becomes his new weapon; eventually he publishes a book, about his life and his innocence. He says, 'the only to survive this prison is to not want or need.' Denzel Washington is at his best here, looking less human with every passing minute of the movie and every passing year in Rube's life.
Then, an inspired kid, reading his book and just believes in his innocence meets Rube. This weakens him, wanting him to get out. The human side of him returns to him. For the exact details, watch the movie, it is gripping to say the least. Then, there is a Canadian trio who help him to get new witnesses and build up a strong case. Threatened, they work up a nice case, which is eventually presented in the federal court, making it make it or break it kind of scenario. Innocent he is proven in the end. A little cliched, i got to agree. But the climax is not what makes the movie to be good. It is the characters and the sensitive way of handling of them, which takes the cake.
Self pity and self obsession is made to look silly which is true in the real sense as well. Greatness comes to those who get out of such mundane behavior. Again greatness has no scale, nor no measure. Maybe greatness is a wrong word. The true value of self, freedom, knowledge and dimmed and distant commodities like power, obsession and ego; one can call it !