Long rail journeys are generally very boring. They tend to get all the more abominable when you are travelling in a second class with each seat packed with 5 people, 4 of which are travelling without reservation. Needless to say, you are the one with the reservation.

Recently, while undertaking one such journey, I came across a person travelling without a ticket sitting diagonally opposite me along with a couple of his other friends. For the first 15 minutes, I simply thought of getting up and swinging a roundhouse kick across their respective heads just like Chuck Norris. But then, I just decided to bear them. They seemed to be very well informed about the happenings around the world.

One of them sparked off a discussion on the Baba Ram Rahim row, wherein one of the Baba's bodyguards shot dead a man in a shopping mall. The guy, who was gonna be the target of my kick, came up with a fantastic point. He said and I quote - "In my opinion, when someone has decided to spend his life meditating day-in-day-out and preaching his followers and dons the regard of a BABA, it implies that he has decided to spend his life serving God and His people. The word BABA makes people believe that this man is so close to God that maybe by following him they too can serve God and wash away their sins.".

Till this point, I felt that he was saying something I may have thought about at some time or the other. But then came a barrage of questions that were worth quite more -
"If this guy has decided to be called a BABA and he claims being close to God, why the hell does he need 2 cars full of bodyguards ? "
"Why does he stop people from entering the shopping mall when he is shopping ? Why is he afraid that someone might hurt him ?"
"Why did he have to take refuge in Mysore when he knew one of his bodyguards had made a mistake ? Why is he trying to protect a criminal ?"

No one had an answer to these rhetorical questions and the man had proven his point.

The questions are worth a thought though.......

The Morning Saga....

Picture this – “It is just about time for the sun to rise. You are comfortably nestled in your bed. The fan is on full blow and a cool natural breeze blowing through the window adds to the comfort. The annoying cricket has disappeared. You are having just the perfect early morning sleep.”

I was having one of the many such perfect mornings a few weeks ago. Suddenly, I was shaken by the shrill noise of the phone alarm. It was time to go for a jog. Initially I just ignored it. But, the manufacturers of Nokia probably considered this to be normal with many people (Thank God!! I am normal) and therefore made sure the volume of the alarm increases from “subtle” to “unbearable”. Unable to take it any more, I just grabbed the phone and hit the “Snooze” button. “Snooze” is just a polite word for “Shut up…I will deal with you later…” The sadistic grin of having shut the alarm appeared on my face before I dozed off again. But, alas, it was so short-lived… The alarm took off again in 5 minutes….That’s so sadistic of Nokia to set the snooze period to just 5 minutes. I just hit the Snooze button and yet again the next time… Finally, out of frustration, I hit the “Stop” button. The ultimate solution to my problem.

But, then, looking at my weight increasing exponentially, I really wanted to go for a jog. So, I finally managed to drag myself out of the bed and headed towards brushing my teeth. While brushing my teeth, the dream that I had conceived while sleeping re-appeared before my eyes. It continued from where it left off. Suddenly, I shuddered when I heard someone from behind saying “Deepshu, so gaye kya????” I opened my eyes and it was my Mom. I had fallen asleep while brushing my teeth. I know that’s so unlikely, but it’s true. However, ashamed that I was, I got up with a start, got into my tracks and went out for that impending jog. I must admit that getting up early is tough, but the feeling that one experiences during and after a jog is so serene and satisfying. It makes you feel that you are already a few pounds lighter. But, don’t you fall for that, as it is not very true.

The next few days were easy and I was quite regular. Then came the weekend and I thought of giving myself a break since I had been quite regular throughout the week. Before I could realize, the weekend had zoomed off faster than a Ferrari, and here I was on a Sunday night, setting my alarm for the next day. The next day, the same process repeated itself and found me trying to get myself out of the bed. I did manage that and went through the entire brushing phase without any problem. I washed my face to make sure I did not feel sleepy. It worked. I got into my track pants. I was ready to put on my shoes and leave. I noticed that I was ready about 5-8 minutes earlier than my usual time. I decided to lie down for 5 minutes. There...that’s the mistake I made. I, immediately, started feeling sleepy and the effect of the face-wash had started fading. I got up after 5 minutes and went to my room to sleep through the next 2 hours. You guessed it right; I did skip my jog yet again.
After I got up, I would normally curse myself, but instead I felt… “Aaah...wow….that was good…”

Quite some time has passed since these incidents happened and I am fairly regular now.
I manage to go about 5 days a week. How did I manage to find a solution to my “morning saga” problem??
Well, 3 out the the 5 times, I go in the evening ….it’s much easier….

“Saamp bhi mar gaya aur lathi bhi nahi tooti….”……