Accidental Writers.

(Loosely based on a true incident) Let me tell you about a boy. He is an orphan. Nobody is born an orphan. He wasn’t either. But I feel that he should have been. Shocked? Angry? Or feel like “how disgusting this writer is!”? I’d still say the same words. That boy was left by his parents on the doorsteps of an orphanage when he was around 10–11 years old. He was told to live in that orphanage forever and was given a goodbye kiss. 4 eyes must have filled with tears. And 2 innocent ones must be trying to grasp what’s happening. I don’t know if you can classify an 11-year boy as young or old, but I guess, he was just old enough. Too young to be left on his own. But old enough to know that he has been left. Too young to leave his own house forever, but perhaps old enough to know that he won’t see that roof again. Too young to leave those two hands, but perhaps old enough to know that he might not hold them again. One can only imagine the storm that small heart must have gon...

Moonlight is the story of a young gay black man's struggle. For his identity. For peace. Did I just startle you ? Did it make you uncomfortable  ? Yes, it is a controversial subject but one that, in this film, has given us one of the best films of this decade. In a world where we're so divided on race and sexuality, Moonlight is an aptly timed social commentary and though it's about an African American, it could easily have been about you and me. It's a special film. Probably the best of the year along with La La Land. Moonlight is a visual treat. James Laxton has somehow managed to bring searing compassion on the screen in the form of a beautiful poem. It was particularly hard given the stereotypes attached with the African American community. There are three stages in the film and each stage has a wonderful actor playing the protagonist. The process does not flounder anywhere during the transition. The quest of Chiron continues seamlessly to find his ...

When my serendipitous friend honored me by asking me to write for his widely read blog, he asked me to write about an event that changed my life forever. That’s some friend, asking me to delve into the darkest of spaces in my life. Ahh ! Only if we hadn’t met. But I am glad we did. It’s very tough to come to terms with bad marks when you’ve been a topper throughout while growing up. And I didn’t just get bad marks, I failed. And things could never just improve afterwards. 11th,12th and then the fateful engineering. Mind you, I scored 80% in 12th which in 2008 was still a pretty decent score but it wasn't enough. I had to wait 2 days before my parents spoke to me. Expectations make you sensitive and mercurial. I learned it the very hard way. But the worst was yet to come. 4 years of engineering started with a sense of freedom as I had taken admission in an engineering college in Indore, but the charm of that faded briskly and in a month of starting ...

During my 23 years of long life and perhaps some 10 odd years of short reading life, I have read plenty of books and some of them have really touched me, just because a few awesome lines in them couldn’t escape my glance and now, can’t escape my heart. At the risk of being repetitive, I would love to share some of those pearls with you. To Kill a Mockingbird “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." The Fountainhead “Who will let you? That’s not the point. The point is who will stop me.” “To sell your soul is the easiest thing in the world. That’s what everybody does every hour of his life. If I asked you to keep your soul – would you u...

I never believed in the god, And everybody called me an Atheist. They said, believe in the "divine", It will change your life, But they never said, how? Will I get supernatural strength Or will I be able to breathe the purest of O2? (Oh man, that I really need to) Perhaps, my life will be a less messed up (and it should be) But then, those " hard staunch god supporters" don't enjoy privileged lives, A few have worse than mine. They say, "Have some faith in the Supreme", But I already have faith, Faith in my values, which has helped me propel my ship through the storms, Faith in the power of my mind, and my arms too (I need to hit the gym though)… Faith in the wonders of nature, Faith in the blunders too. And I'd always support the lack of faith, Instead of a misplaced one. They say "the blind faith in god drives the world", Oh, but I beg to differ, I think the driver has always been th...

Life is a story, waiting to be written. And, it is your story! I have a very strange habit. I like to talk with strangers and learn about their lives. Wherever I go, I manage to find some stranger, who is either happy or sad, but definitely willing to talk and share his/her story with me. And through this long (yet very short) life of 23 years, I have met several such people and heard their interesting stories. I have met an old person on a train and heard his entrepreneurial adventure. I have met a person in a waiting room and heard a courageous story of a nervous breakdown and a fight against it. I have cried when a boy told me that he lost both his legs in an attempt to save his younger sister but still, couldn’t do it. And I have laughed when a happy couple sitting next to me on an airport, narrated the pranks of their two years old daughter, while the culprit was busy in playing with my beard. And I have heard hundreds of such stories. And I have smiled, laughe...