Cardinal assassin

Don't you wish you did something that'd touch lives all around? And there are several ways to do that and all of them require time, effort and the ability to accept failure with as much zeal as success. Some people don't fall in this category although they pursue the same procedure for a living. They change lives too. When a contract killer is assigned a task (no, not the Bigg Boss-types), doesn't he achieve something life-changing? He's going to bump off someone and that person's life is bound to change. In fact, change way too drastically. Life will change to death. It can't possibly get more drastic than that! I was flooded with these thoughts after reading a piece on Ahmed Ali Khan, a social activist from Cheeta Camp. He had been constantly raising his voice against drug peddlers in the locality and even threatened annshan if police remained indifferent to his pleas. Unfortunately, he was attacked by an unidentified guy last Friday. What's worth noting (at least for the assailant) is that the crusader was struck on his left buttock with a knife. Khan sustained injuries as expected but what does it say of the wannabe-murderer. He ran away from the scene creating a bloody mess but i wonder what must be going through his head. How disappointed must he be with himself? His companions must be laughing at him. After all, who mistakes gluteus for guts? Even if he's not a trained professional, who does that! Maybe he watches too much porn and took the "Stab me in the ass" line way too seriously.

Nirvana by accident

In movies, the screen is at times decelerated to bring in the effect of how time can be manipulated. During these instances, actors move with a grace otherwise unnoticed. The same theory is applied in sports entertainment. You can even count the number of revolutions a football completed before it skewered in to kiss the back of the net. Slo-mo, they call it. In real world, this shit happens to you whenever you bang your head into a wall or a glass door. As soon as the stars clouding your eyes are gone, everything starts to make sense. But not before everything slows down like a glacier succumbing to global warming. Even your thought process takes a beating. It's an interesting phenomena. The only trouble is you've got to be fast enough to die down a bit and young enough to live again.

Uncommon courage

Some years ago, there was this superb ad running on TV about a guy for whom even a local train bothers to slow down. As he gets into the compartment, his co-commuters share an idea why the aforementioned miracle happened. Turns out the young man had done something remarkable just the day before. Apparently, a group of loafers were harassing a girl in the train and our hero decided to stand up. He didn't wait for others to take an initiative. "Yeh bhaisaab akele hi bidh gaye," adds a bespectacled elder in the video. The details of his actions weren't conveyed but the message was clear: he did a brave job in a city and an era that strictly follows the tujhe kya policy.

PS: I've been trying to find that bravery award commercial on YouTube but to no avail. Also the year when it came out on air, i was in Nashik and had done something similar with a different result. I ended up with bruises and the damsel was still in distress.

Walking the distance

Him: "Do you want me to kiss you? I can do that. Although i've seen it happen in movies, i haven't done it before. But there is a high probability of us getting it right. On top of that, the nocturnal beach is going to help us too. However, there is a catch here. As soon as our lips collide, the space that separates us will be filled with an intimacy that will alter everything that's between us. We'll never be the same again as expectations will roll in and make themselves at home...."

Her: "God! You think too much and talk much more. Alright, just keep walking then."  

The next morning he woke up in his house with a mix of regret and relief. He was sad for being such a control freak but glad too that he didn't plunge in like others would have in his place. Whichever way one tilts the argument, both of them learned last night that a smooch can't possibly last longer than a laughter-filled conversation. 

In the meantime, the dried sand were engrossed in a deep kiss with his sandals.