Twin Reveal

She is coming back after twenty years. I am super excited about her arrival. How can I welcome her? Will she be pleased with my surprises? I don't know why she is so close to my heart. She is more important to me than my parents even though I don't remember her. She left India after a few days of my birth. 

Masi, my mother's sister who lives in Qatar. Roshni - as her name suggests she spreads light wherever she goes. My parents are surprised by the fact that I am exactly like her - not physically but mentally. My likes and dislikes and behaviour - everything equals with her. They even call me Junior Roshni. Even I sometimes doubts whether I am my Masi's daughter. 

I am waiting for this night to be over. Oh, it is still quarter past eleven. She will reach by nine at the airport tomorrow morning. I and Pa are going to pick her from the airport. Ma will make Masi's favourite dishes. I am falling asleep.

When I opened my eyes I was in a hospital in front of the labour room. The nurse came out with a cute baby girl. But she was not happy, even though she had a little angel in her hand. She is conversing with the man outside. He is crying aloud holding the baby. Maybe his wife had gone. He gets inside the room. I also followed him. 

Oh! I was surprised. His wife is alive. Besides her, another baby was there. The baby just looked like me, as I was in my childhood. 

Oh, God! Am I the child of them? I was confused. But the parents looked sad. I thought that they don't like me. That's why they handover me to my parents. I felt sad. But why they are not looking at the little cute baby. What had she done to them? They don't care about her, it seems that the baby never exists. 

After a while, I understood that nobody can see that baby. Only I can see! I went to grab her when she started to cry. No! I can't interfere there, I am just able to watch them. 

The scenes started to move fast. The babies are growing old. But nobody notices me - my childhood. But she can feel what is happening around her. She always hovers around the others. But she feels bad as she is not noticed. I was surprised when I saw them as grown-ups. My Masi in her twenties and me myself. How can this happen?

I woke up with a start. It is seven in the morning. I understood that my father had left for the airport. When I reach the kitchen, my mother was making Kesari - Masi's favourite dish. She told me that Pa had called me several times. But I was in a deep and sound sleep. So he left for the airport himself. 

I asked Ma about her siblings other than Masi and whether Masi had a twin sister. She was surprised by hearing such a question from me and answered affirmatively. She told that my Grandma used to mention the sad incident of the death of Masi's fraternal twin sister at the time of birth. I was shattered by hearing this from Ma.

I doubted whether am I the same child whom I saw in my dream. Is that just a dream or was it real? 

I heard the gate opening. My heart started to beat fastly. 

I remembered that ancestors always says that our soul will always find out our dear ones. 


 

A Letter Unsend!

Thiruvananthapuram, India

8 September 2020

Dear Professor, 

          To the Man Who is still Alive!

     The man in the black robes & shoulder-length hair framing his face attained my attention when he stared with his cold black eyes at a new student for no visible reason. There was something about that hatred, but it was revealed too late. Right, Professor Snape? Yes, your dislike for him amused me more than anything else. How can a person hate someone when he sees him for the first time? That thrilled me. Even though you were portrayed in grey shades, my heart didn't believe that & I followed you. 

     After seeing you, I realised that teachers always wish for the good of their students and cared us like their own. When it was revealed that you are the Half-Blood Prince, I told myself that you are not a Prince but a STAR. Yes, I swear, just like the stars shower light, even though they are in the dark, you too do the same. Darkness indeed has the power to drag everyone towards it, but you taught me that it is we who choose whether to remain in the dark or to walk towards the brighter side. 

     Everyone makes mistakes, and you advised me that not correcting the error is the biggest mistake. You gave me the most significant lesson in my life - the power of LOVE. You proved that Love triumphs over Hatred, and it is the most potent weapon we all are inherited. For me, you are the best teacher in the whole world I have ever seen. You gave me one more reason to love black & night.

You made me realise I too, can love. 

Without wax,

Farha Jwala

Paltan

Samundar ya Aasmaan - dhonom hi Blue,
Jaisi hi hamari Paltan,
Jiski khoon mein dhodthi hai
Mumbai Indians ki Rooh. 

समुंदर या आसमान - दोनों ही ब्लू,
जैसी ही हमारी पलटन,
जिसकी खून मैं दौड़ती है 
मुंबई इंडियंस की रूह। 

Sea or Sky - both are Blue,
Just like our Paltan,
Whose blood runs with the 
Spirit of Mumbai Indians.

 

Life before Death

‘The whispering sound made me woke up.’

Someone appeared before me when I opened my eyes. They were two, standing beside my bed. I cannot see their faces, as the room was dark. One is taller than the other but both had a good physic. 

The taller man is blaming the other for something and he is weeping. They are moving towards the door. Through the light peeped inside the room when he opened the door, I realized that the taller man is beyond fifty and the other is in his youth.

‘Who are they and what are they doing in my room at this hour? Oh! God, Are they thieves? If they are, I will not spare them. How dare are they to get inside my home? Today they will know the power of a girl.’  

Getting up from the bed with rubbing my slumber eyes I followed them secretly. I was surprised to see my whole house in fog! 

‘Are they walking or flying?’ 

I could not reach them without running. They were too fast for me to follow. Getting down the stairs and they were moving towards the hall. I took a golf stick from my father’s golf stand without making any noise. 

When I reached the hall, they were standing beside my bonsai plant. I hide behind my bookshelf, where they were standing. I wonder why they were not stealing anything. Anyway, there is no point in it. They have trespassed into my house.

I held the golf stick with steadiness and determined to attack them. Suddenly, they again started talking, this time much louder. I guessed they were mad and were not bothered about the waking of my family. I listened to them carefully.

“You are responsible for this, Shiva.” The old man said. 

“If you didn’t break the bottle, this couldn’t have happened.”

“I lost my control when I heard them. I did not think about anything rather than saving my nation. For a soldier, his Nation is more important than anything” Shiva replied.

‘Oh! Are they soldiers? But what are they talking about? No idea.’

The old man started again. “After all, my granddaughter is fighting for her life. It is all because of you. You should not have done this. Moreover, you should have to think about the ones who will be affecting by this. You should be a kind human than a proud soldier.”

“Dad, what are you saying? Do you think that I do not care for my niece?” Shiva’s eyes filled with tears.

'The matter is so serious. Someone is in danger. But why are they standing here? May be they need some money and thought that will get it from here. I think both came straight from warfront. Or, How will they have this muddy army uniform. Anyway, eavesdropping is a great task. Let me continue it.'

"Our rival country planned to attack not only our nation, but also all the top nations. They thought that they would become number one after this like what had happened in Hiroshima year ago. They only thought about the power rather than humanity. So for saving millions why should I consider kindness and all?" Shiva answered. 

"But what happened when you break the bottle. The biohazard spread in the lab and transmitted to millions of people stealing their lives. You know that even though we have boundaries people travel worldwide. Now it is swallowing the whole world as a pandemic." The old man countered. 

"I thought that when it is broken, it will destroy. But who knows that this will turn into a horrible situation." Shiva said.

"You went with Sreya for her business meeting and made all the mishaps there. But now that made her life really a hell." The old man responded. 

Their conversation surprised me. 

'Are they talking about me? Why are they mentioning my name and my business tour? I went there with my colleagues. However, these people seem familiar to me. But I can’t remember them. How could I be his niece and the old man’s granddaughter? My grandfather and uncle had died decades ago in the warfront. Oh! No, my uncle’s name is Shiva!' 

I was shocked. I ran to the room where my parent’s sleep. They were sleeping. I try to wake them up. But they were not waking up. I became afraid. 

Suddenly the mobile phone rang. After two rings, my father attended the call. He was very much disappointed. My mother enquired about the call. With tearful eyes, my father said, “It was the call from Dr. Suresh Rabin and Sreya is serious.” They started to cry.

Hearing them cry my grandfather and uncle came there. They became shell shocked by seeing me. They flew from there. I also followed them. 

We reached a hospital. Everyone there seems to be aliens. I saw myself lying in the bed between the medical equipment. Doctors are trying to keep my pulse rate steady. 

My grandfather and uncle started to drag me towards my true self. They insisted me to enter into my own body. Suddenly I started to suffocate. After a while, I was breathing normally. 

I opened my eyes. The doctors were so happy to save another life. They told me that I am out of risk and can leave the hospital tomorrow itself. 

I could not find my uncle and grandfather anywhere. I searched the whole room when everyone left. However, it was in vain. I slowly fell into sleep.

Early in the morning, doctors who treated me sent me a small fair well. I was sent to home by a special hospital vehicle. 

Through the way, I found the usually busy roads now stay free. Not all the shops are open now. Few people are found near the shops. In addition, everyone wear masks and some has covered their faces with handkerchiefs or shawls. Taps and water cans are seen everywhere for washing hands.

Finally, I reached my home. My parents were waiting for me at the courtyard. Dr. Suresh Rabin has given them all the updates about me. I never saw them this much happier before. I entered my heaven and they made me clean my hands with sanitizer and told me to take a bath first. Moreover, my family is more important to me. While climbing the stairs, I smiled at the two portraits hanging on the wall. 

When something falls or breaks, I recognize that, something big was about to come, and it has cleared the way by the blessings of our deceased ones. I realized that always our ancestors will be with us and they will help us to face all the crucial situations in our life.

“Nobody ever leaves this world. They only become invisible before the visible ones.” 


Boundless Bond

“The program will start only after fifteen minutes as there is a delay in our honourable President's arrival.” The announcement made me travel to my good old days in school. 

It was on 2012 July 30th that I was first curious about her, when Mathuri miss, our class teacher asked everyone to tell something about their best friend. Everyone was so excited when Ishani came forward. Our class – the K division was included that year and we all were new students. She was always quiet and haven’t made any friends in class. She seems to be an introvert – always be in her own world. While we all played games and cracked jokes, she was immersed in her novels. She ate lunch alone while we all shared our food. She never came to us for chit-chats and when we go to her she hardly replied. So the whole class was thrilled to know about her friends.

When she spoke about her friendship with Piya, her bestie, I yearned to see her. She told that she shares her worries and joys with her and that amused me. She was so happy to share her unbreakable bond with Piya. From her words, it was clear that Piya was so friendly with her that she never thought of another one. For her, friendship is something that doesn’t demand anything from each other. 

Most students including me talked about the ones sitting near us as our best friends. Some friends became unhappy when they haven’t become anyone’s best friends. After that period, almost everyone in our class started to quarrel because of this. I noticed that Ishani was sitting calmly, she has no worries and was not angry with anyone even though no one mentioned her as their best friend. That shocked me, I was surrounded by my two other friends whom I haven’t named my best friend. They were angry with me as they named me and I named my another friend. I feel disgusted when everything ended dramatically - they stop talking to me and were behaving like that I had made some undoable sin. 

I realised why Ishani was so different from all of us – for her friendship means happiness. I haven’t slept that day thinking why my friends behave so differently to me. When I go to class next day, I sat near Ishani and she didn’t tell anything. My friends were so furious with me as I changed my seat. Like Ishani, I too started to behave like her. A few days later when she took a novel to read in a free hour, she took another one and handover it to me without telling me anything. 

Slowly there bloomed a friendship between us, which irked the whole class. In the beginning she didn’t talk much, but by the passage of time, we share our things, stories and enjoyed being together. 

One day I asked her about Piya, her best friend. She was so excited that I still remember her friend's name. She talked a lot about Piya and when I told her my wish to meet Piya, she was so delighted. She promised me that she will bring Piya to school the next day. 

I was so eager to meet Piya, my bestie's bestie. I came to school early and was so anxious to meet her. I can’t control my anxiety and I went near our big school gate in the entrance so that I can meet her when she reaches school. From there I could see her coming and I got the glance of her turning the curved road with her father. I was depressed when no other person was with her. 

When they neared the entrance, a huge and terrible noise deafened my ears. I was dragged by someone near the gate and when everything calmed down, I saw Ishani lying near the gate flooded in blood. There was a hurry-burry and her wounded father and others lifted her and took her to the nearby hospital. I ran towards her and saw that she hold something so tightly to her chest. While lifting her to the van, it was dropped from her stern hold. I took it with me and entered the van when everyone asked me to step down, her father stopped them and I went with them. 

 “Tosha, Tosha, your name is called dear”, my mother's horrible shaking made me conscious of the event happening. I went to the stage and the honourable President handed me The youngest Environmentalist Award 2021 and I received it with tearful eyes. 

When I reached home I ran to my bedroom and caressed the bonsai Bamboo plant. Tears flooded as I remembered the cost I had to pay for seeing Piya. Even though Ishani never returned to my life again, she gifted me her best friend before leaving everyone. 

Ishani taught me that the whole of nature is our friend and a friend should be like nature. They never expect anything from us and shower us with unconditional love. 

It doesn’t matter how many friends you have, what matters is that of which how many cares  for you. 



Are We Born Poor???

Does the word poverty arouse in you the image of a human or a society who fails to meet their basic needs without the acquisition of money? Of course, poverty means the deficiency of money and is natural to think so. But do you think that poverty is not just a lack of money? Yes, it is! We know that money can’t buy everything in this world. So there are more factors whose lack make a man poor.  

Let’s consider Health as a major element in a man's life. When a child is born, his survival is mainly based on his health and not on his wealth. We might have seen millionaires begging for the life of their beloved one’s when their health deteriorates. Old people struggle to stay healthy and fit through various means. So it is evident that Health is always a Wealth. 

Does it mean if you have the health, you are out of poverty? No, so poverty is not just a lack of health and wealth. We are familiar with the Emperor Muhammad-bin-Tuglaq, who was called the Wise-Fool. He had enough money and much health, but lacked Wisdom. We label those people who behave stupidly and idiotically as Tuglaq. We live in a society which demands everyone’s equal participation. If we lack adequate wisdom and the knowledge we will be unable to contribute to our nation’s progress. So the lack of wisdom is an indication of poverty.  

Intelligence, wisdom and knowledge don’t always equal success. It is our Character and personality which helps us to attain greater heights. More than anything else our politeness and down to earth nature impresses everyone. Everything lies in our behavior and how we consider our fellow beings. So who lacks these abilities, not more or less than a poor man.  

We all have heard the story of the bird which was kept in a golden cage, right? Even though it had a luxurious life, it was denied the Freedom to conquer the vast blue sky. More than the elegance, our independence is more important to us. A person devoid of freedom is just like a body without a soul. A freedom restricted person is always equal to a person who is going through poverty.   

Can you imagine what would have happened if God had placed each human being in an isolated habitat? Can’t imagine, right? Yes, the great Lord knows that we can’t withstand loneliness, that’s why he had created Eve for Adam. So whatever we achieve, if we don’t have anyone to share our feelings and emotions, it will be a living hell. Introverts boast that they are comfortable when they are alone. But if they never meet a human for at least a week, I swear, they will be not be able to withstand suffocation. Our mind always wants to be cared for and loved by someone. So a person is poor if he is bound by Loneliness. 

Happiness is what we all want to long for throughout our life. It can’t be bought from a mall or a market, it is to be developed within ourselves. Everyone enjoys life in their own ways. As we all are different, our likes and happiness also depend on us. We can easily find happiness in front of us, but as life is a journey and sometimes we may lose our paths. When we miss our direction we go away from happiness and reaches the shores of poverty.  

Thus it is clear that why the Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen quoted that ‘Poverty is not just a lack of money; it is not having the capability to realize one’s full potential as a human being'. We are gifted with numerous innate abilities, it is our responsibility to unearth it and enjoy our life to the fullest. 


Nostalgia

Setting rays are giggling me and the western sun is waking me,
‘Stop it yaar… I want to sleep’

Oh no! It’s time to work,
Yanking my formal clothes, I rushed for some fresh shower.

Passing beside the Imli tree,
Listening to my fast footsteps - Chamgadhads are rising up.

Stealing some Imli fruits and hiding them inside my pant pockets,
I opened my cabin door.

The office was in dead silence as my team went to the night party,
I tasted one Imli fruit.

I traversed to my ancestral home,
Dadi was in the courtyard front and scolding me to get inside.

Grabbing Imli from my mouth, she warned me of ‘Dilruba’-
The Chudail who lives in our Imli tree.

Dadi shares the legend to me-
“She transforms to Chamgadhad as she is the Queen of Bats”.

She only comes to us – 
When we either call her or take her favourite stuff.

As she likes Imli most,
She will come and start eating us after sitting on our little heads.

When the gust opened my window panes,
I dropped the Imli in a terror fearing whether she has come.

*Chamgadhad - Bat
*Imli - Tamarind
*Dadi - Grandmother
*Chudail - Mythical/Legendary creature resembling a woman

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