23rd April 2009 15th Lok Sabha Elections (2nd Phase)
My father had registered our names for the voting list almost 2years back. Our attempts to vote in the past were futile, as we would search our names in the voting lists and would return disappointed.
Finally, we came across www.jaagore.com thanks to the TATA Tea Advertisement, and found our names in the voter list. The information helped us a lot, we found our polling station's address and booth number all online.
We visited the booth in the morning around 10am and the whole process barely took any time. I was excited, this was the first time I got to vote, and it felt great to do my bit for the country. I now proudly flaunt my inked finger! :)

The hot summers remind me of my school days. The long summer vacations were fun, mischief and carelessness. Behind all these, there always lay a small fear, of not completing the summer vacation homework. The homework, we would tend to forget and feverishly try completing a couple of days before the school was to begin.

I get that little fear again and I hate it. I don't have any homeworks to complete, the summer vacations are long gone. Still I get that feeling at times and I totally hate it. Now that I think of it, it was so cruel of the teachers to give us summer vacation homework, it would somehow, somewhere prevent us from having 100% fun. The fun we so very well deserved. It saddens me to see, we are so bound by little things in life, which prevent us living our own lives.

A small trip from Norwalk to New York, in a train, Merrit7 to Grand Central. A plane from Mumbai to Brisbane via Singapore. A walk from nowhere to somewhere. I so want to walk away, just walk into the unknown. Walk to a place where no one is waiting for me, away from a place where no one bids good byes, expecting a safe return. I just wished I could walk one day into the morning mist and disappear. I so wish.

I am not running away, if you think so, I care not. I just want to live my life once only for me without that little fear holding back my heart's desires. I want to be free once, just once.

A clear blue sky above, with a few fluffy pure white clouds dotting it. The ocean below, bluer than the sky, the cold wind caressing the ocean water as it softly blows. The sun warming my body when it shivered because of the cold wind. The wind provided relief when my skin burned in the sun. The sweet play of the two of them on my body made me smile, as the sweet voice of the ocean water sang to me from its depth. The rough sand clings to my skin and slowly trickles down as I make attempts to hold it.

I run towards the water, the wind softly blows my hair, I hop and then jump with a loud splash in the crystal clear water. The bubbles around me rush for the surface. I float, the soft and smooth water splashes against me with a rhythm. A sea gull hovers above balancing itself against the mighty wind.

I dive deep, the sun's rays filter through the water, sparkling. The soft water pushes me ahead with its flow, the sand below on the ocean floor becomes the canvas of the sun and the ocean water. Waves become the brush strokes and the wind the painter.

Who says there is no such thing like magic. If this isn't magic then what is?

कब जानी थी उसने १ रुपए की कीमत? शायद गरीबी ने उसे माँ के पेट से ही सिखा दिया था | उसे तो अब यह भी याद न था की कबसे उसने पैसे जोड़ने शुरू किए | बरसों से पैसे जोड़ता रहा उसका परिवार, पर कभी पुरे नही पड़े | न तो उसे शराब और जुए की लत थी न ही वो फिजूल खर्ची था | साल भर पैसे जुटाता तब कहीं दिवाली पर घर में चार दिए जलते |  

गाँव छोड़ शहर में आ बसा, मेहनत मजदूरी कर कमाने खाने लगा | शहर उसे कभी नही भाया, अजीब सी दौड़ में सब यहाँ भागते रहते | वो शहर में होते हुए भी शहर का कभी हिस्सा नही रहा | जब अपनी हाथ गाड़ी के पास दो पल सुस्ताने बैठता तो दूर से ही शहर को और शहरवासियों को निहारता रहता | चमचमाती गाड़ियों में लोग सर्राटे से निकल जाते | एक अजीब सी उधेड़ बुन में सब फसे थे | कहने को उनमे और इसमें कई फरक थे पर फ़िर भी पैसे जोड़ने की दौड़ में दोनों लगे थे |  

एक सुखी रोटी देख उसने पेट भरना सीख लिया था | शहर की दौड़ती भीड़ को देख उसने जीना सीख लिया था |