the length is Short... Very Short

Below is a mixed bag collection of some short stories;

Let me correct myself; very short stories.

• “I want to be an engineer,” the topper says excitedly during the interview. The dancing shoes in his drawer know that he is lying…
• Heated argument. No replies; yet the ticks turn blue. A sob escapes; Doorbell sings a tune. A giggle hugs back.
• “Be what you want to be,” he had been taught. Ignoring the rude rook, the boisterous bishop and the narcissistic knight, the pawn took one step at a time and became the Queen
• She wore saree for the first time. He tripped.
• “He likes his milk cold, not hot.” “And he wont sleep without a lullaby” ”And…” Still a mother at heart, she hoped God was listening.
• “Just make sure you do not fall in love with a girl from another caste,” his conservative family repeatedly warned him. He finally fell in love with a man from the same caste.
• The red paan stains all over the temple walls did not bother anyone. The red stains on her skirt did
• She stepped out with her black eyeliner, blue mascara, red lipstick, peach concealer, pink blush & beige foundation is place. “Don’t you dare put any colors on my face,” she said sternly to the children who wanted to play Holi
• “Don’t worry, he is a nice man and shall be a good husband, unlike your earlier husband who left you pregnant & ran away,” Said the daughter to her worried mother who agreed to marry the second time.
• Fired from the job, the man returned home tensed & broken. He felt on the top of the world when he heard his daughter speak ‘papa’ for the first time.
• “Dad let me carry it for you,” he said taking the heavy bag from his father’s hand. The old hands felt relived, but the heart felt heavier, as his son walked him through the gates of old-age home.
• He was an evil man who lied, cheated & robbed at every step. He compensated for this by skipping meat on Tuesdays.
• He saw her sad & alone, so he walked upto her. She stared at him reluctant to share her sorrows with a complete stranger, but he persisted. An hour later, the dog finally adopted the human.
• “Promise me, you will never lie to me!” “Promise” said the husband hiding her medical reports in his bag.
• “Dare you shout at my daughter again,” said the mother angrily to the son in law. Unknown from the fact that her daughter had slapped him twice before he reacted.
• “My boss vented someone else’s anger & frustration on me for a small mistake; he insulted me, taunted me & never said sorry. Who does this kind of behavior?” complained the irritated husband to his wife. Consoling him the wife said in her mind, “You!!!”
• “You may now kiss the bride!” said the priest. He looked up, paused a little & asked, “By the way, who is the bride?”

When was the last time???

Isn’t it funny that when someone asks us, What’s new? We have a standard reply. Nothing.

That means every new day of our lives we do same things, but if we look back we suddenly realized a lot is changed. Even though we thought we did nothing new, but looking back some months, years we can see a vast change.

Yesterday, while browsing through my timeline I realized things I used to do as daily routine are no longer in my today’s list.

I asked myself, when was the last time…?

When was the last time I blogged daily?

When was the last time I read an actual book?

When was the last time I called up my friends just to say HI?

When was the last time I hugged my mom & slept with my head in her lap?

When was the last time I played with the wrinkles in my granny’s hand?

When was the last time my wife & I just looked at each other for a long time with a smile?

When was the last time I helped someone whom I shall never meet or would never have any contact?

When was the last time I planted a tree?

When was the last time I played cricket with my friends in the streets?

When was the last time I sang a song from my mouth instead of humming it in my head?

When was the last time I partied till I drop?

When was the last time I played with a dog?

When was the last time I cried all my emotions & frustrations out?

When was the last time I sorted a grudge with a friend who was once closest to me?

When was the last time I walked in the rain holding hands?
When was the last time I made a baby laugh?
When was the last time I made a sand castle?
When was the last time I made clay models?
When was the last time I drank like a fish?
When was the last time I had no inhibitions to say or do things?
When was the last time I saw people actually loving each other & not shouting it on FB?
When was the last time I laughed my heart out?

When was the last time I was happy?

and the OSCAR goes to....

On 28^th Feb, 2016 Julianne Moore announced, “And the Oscar goes to… LEONARDO DI CAPRIO!!!”

Millions of fans across the world celebrated the moment as if it was theirs. I too was no exception…

I mean, I adore this actor, he has been a wonderful actor, has delivered stellar performances, nominated 6 times over last 22 years and finally today is the day he got his due.

On the top of all this, his Oscar acceptance speech swept away all the hearts.

“Thank you all so very much. Thank you to the Academy. Thank you to all of you in this room. I have to congratulate the other incredible nominees this year. The Revenant was the product of the tireless efforts of an unbelievable cast and crew. First off, to my brother in this endeavor, Mr. Tom Hardy. Tom, your talent on screen can only be surpassed by your friendship off screen … thank you for creating a transcendent cinematic experience. Thank you to everybody at Fox and New Regency … my entire team. I have to thank everyone from the very onset of my career … To my parents; none of this would be possible without you. And to my friends, I love you dearly; you know who you are.

And lastly, I just want to say this: Making The Revenant was about man's relationship to the natural world. A world that we collectively felt in 2015 as the hottest year in recorded history. Our production needed to move to the southern tip of this planet just to be able to find snow. Climate change is real, it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating. We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world, for the billions and billions of underprivileged people out there who would be most affected by this. For our children’s children, and for those people out there whose voices have been drowned out by the politics of greed. I thank you all for this amazing award tonight. Let us not take this planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted. Thank you so very much.”

  

Now let’s step back & view this whole moment of 180 seconds bit by bit. Let’s understand what made this so special.

I see 2 key points:

1.       Leo finally won an award: 

       We all share the feeling of ‘we deserved, but its reserved for someone else’. May it be appraisal, approval, acclaim, etc. Leo was nominated 6 times and finally received it. It was like a moment where everyone who have always tried & delivered but never received their due; finally receiving it at that moment. 

2.       What would he say & how did Leo play: 

       Pick any Oscar Onstage Speech Transcript; it has a set pattern. If we pick up the keywords, frequency of keywords & references, they should be more or less like:

       Thank you, God, team, family, deserve, lucky, imagined, waited this moment, mention of the cause (in case), happy and the most important word ‘I’.

       When Leo headed towards stage I can bet people expected things like tears, speechlessness, a funny anecdote plus the above. And why should they not? Afterall, we all imagined ourselves as the one who is getting is due after a long time & the day I get the moment I shall pour out all the feelings stuffed inside me since ages.

       However, Leo delivered a complete opposite of it.

        If we notice the flow in the speech it starts with thanking everyone, appreciates the feeling of brotherhood, friendship, family & professional alliances. Then he directly plunges to a key cause, talks about the issue, the repercussions & how crucial it is to act soon and in the last statement a little bit about his feeling of not taking things for granted.

       

        WOW! What did just hit me? This guy did not say anything about how much he has waited for this moment & how much this award mean did to him. He broke all the rules of a standard acceptance speech, he did not say things people were actually expecting to hear and yet, why was our reaction WOW!

        

        My take is:

-          Leo received an Oscar because of the movie, which was about relationship between Man & nature. He was not there for TWOWS or any other movie. He connected the core of the movie with his speech.

-          He broke the rule of winning an Oscar & making it all about how lucky he was. Instead he used this platform to put a cause which can connect with the movie & present scenario.

-          There was no drama, no tears, just respect that he gained from the audience before the speech which said it all for him.

-          He showed the human side in the plastic world. He displayed his concerns outside the screen which made it more personal & directly from the heart.

In this bargain his Speech is one of the most viewed videos over the internet & also one of the most trended topic.