An Odyssey...

It was first week of April, 1993 as my oblivious memory could recall the completion of my 5th standard second (final) semester examinations. Summer vacation had started and all my friends planning holidays to exotic locations. I too thought as usual this year too we'll travel to our native place in madhya pradesh. Life was ostensibly smooth as seen by me and my younger brother ajay. But we were made to see the unreal side of life. We were being raised in a virtual world. My parents had been blessed with an amazing idiosyncrasy of shrouding the vicissitudes of life from their children. We were unaware that the darkest and ugliest phase of our lives was at our doorstep banging relentlessly. We never owned a house and it takes a lifetime to own a house in the city of dreams, mumbai, where my dad stepped in 20 yrs back when he was just 13 relinquishing his secondary education owing to the absence of the basic necessities. Now by god's grace he was staying in a rented house of the c...

As everyone visits their respective holy place to worship their god and goddess, I too have my own. I offer prayers to them everyday. I deify them. These two divine spirits have become the most indispensable ingredient of my life and I can’t imagine loosing them even if world reaches the culmination of its existence. They are my deities. They had always been blessed with an amazing idiosyncrasy of shrouding the vicissitudes of life from me. Their endless sacrifices have made me venerate them even more fervently. Having bereft of their basic essentials they have climbed the precipice of destitution with great vigour. They have endeavoured to fulfil the needs of their children without giving heed to their own necessities under dire circumstances. They worked their soul out of their body. These are my parents. In 1973, Dad fled his home at the age of 13 to Mumbai in search of his livelihood. I believe that itself was a courageous step since it was an alien city for him having no idea what...

Life is unpredictable. There are days when life springs surprises on us and things begin to happen to us one by one in a series of unexpected events. It’s not only difficult but unimaginable to forget 1st of June 2005, Distributed computing exam (final semester of my fourth year engineering), wherein I fell down unconscious just after 50 minutes I started writing my exam. I don’t know what followed immediately. I partly regained my consciousness while I was taken to the nearby somaiya hospital. I wonder if this was the reason hospital was built near to our college. Still fighting hard to open my eyes n speak. It was after almost two n a half hours I returned to college at 2:35 hoping to give my exam (fearing whether college will allow me). Indeed at that moment I couldn’t think of anything else but I knew I have to somehow complete my exam. I can’t commemorate in what state of mind I was in. I was too late. Exam was already over by the time I reached college. As soon as I entered colle...