San(')s Sanity

It had been a stressful day at the office today. The kind of day that made you loosen your tie. I decided to take a walk through the Park before I drove home. Helped me to calm down. The closest that you can get to pure air in the polluted confines of the City. As I was walking through the stone pathway canopied by the trees, I caught a glimpse of a face which was vaguely recognizable. Could it be? Was it possible? Her? A blast from the past so to speak. It was her. By now, I was no longer walking but just staring. She too had now seen me. Either she was dumbstruck that a total stranger was gawking at her or she too had finally realized that it was me. After what seemed like an eternity, she smiled. I breathed a sigh of relief. I walked up to her jauntily with a smile that eclipsed that of the Cheshire cat. She was still having the same pleasant expression on her face. The same expression, the same face. She had hardly changed. It had been quite a long time since I had last...

There are just some days in our lives in which you feel you think you are in complete control. You know the purpose of your living or indeed the absence of it. Perhaps you think life is for the greater good of the greater number, as preached by Utilitarianism or quite conversely, you belong to an Egoistic school of thought and would rather dedicate your life to your own selfish needs. Fair. To each his own. The other day I was talking with this Prof and he, although highly appreciative of my current inclination to take up a job, was trying to convince me to try for the Civil Services. But to me, from all the interaction I’ve had with people from this field, the Indian Administrative Services is a thankless job. I feel that you give in too much, without expecting anything in return. Altruistic. Perhaps, one day I would want to pursue such a career and in fact, I might even regret not considering it now. But, I mused that it would be far more grievous if I were to take up that physi...

Ahh, madness. This final semester is getting to be painfully peaceful. You know the oxymorons you hate? This one scores pretty high up there. Having no responsibilities or commitments is brilliant, its like a second chance at childhood. But then after a while, the humdrum daily monotony gets on your nerves. A great way to beat the same is movies and sitcoms. Off late, Frasier helped me tackle a couple of weeks of boredom but he was ably supported by the likes of Munich and Syriana, which by the way are amazing must-see movies. I got to see two seasons of Frasier, the 7 th and the 8 th and in case you’re wondering if the 8 th season of Frasier was indeed the last one, like I thought before venturing on this voyage, you’re mistaken. Apparently there are 3 more seasons, which I came to know off only after I watched the last episode of the 8 th season with bated breath and a ready-to-say-“aww” attitude. When the episode ended abruptly and at loose ends, my worst fears, well tempor...

A writer’s life is a difficult one. Recalcitrant and demanding. He knew that. It was nearly six months since he started the arduous task of penning his book. His literary masterpiece. Six months of pure solitude and seclusion, perhaps to the point of self-imposed ostracizing. The chapters toiled for, the struggles relentless. Every once in a while he needed some fresh air. To clear the lungs. A dingy log cabin does that to your system. The park at the edge of the woods was the perfect remedy. A remedy or a nostrum? Well. In any case, he helped himself to one every couple of weeks. It was like any other time. The hint of sunlight creeping through the enveloped evening sky as the solar reign made way for the brilliance of night’s darkness. A couple of birds flew against the receding reddish-orange Sun. The water in the lake was as placid as ever. There waited his bench overlooking this magical “triviality” of Nature. Usually it would be empty. Almost no one made their way t...