Pandemonium at the Mandap!!!

It is that time once again… Festivity time at ‘ANAND’!! The twins of the family are venturing on to take their first step into the world of family hood. It’s the betrothal ceremony… a double betrothal!! Which means… double the festivities, double the fun-fare, double the joy….and maybe double the pandemonium!!

With identical twins like my dear brothers Suchit and Sumit, identity related confusion is never far away. Even to date there are several relatives who mistake them for the other. Rewinding a bit, when these two were young little brats, this identity crisis was utilised by them to their favour! At school the mischief monger would put on an innocent face and conveniently blame the other twin for all the mischief done. And it’s not too soon before he gets paid back for it by his sibling in just the same manner!

It is that time once again… Festivity time at ‘ANAND’!! The twins of the family are venturing on to take their first step into the world of family hood. It’s the betrothal ceremony… a double betrothal!! Which means… double the festivities, double the fun-fare, double the joy….and maybe double the pandemonium!!

With identical twins like my dear brothers Suchit and Sumit, identity related confusion is never far away. Even to date there are several relatives who mistake them for the other. Rewinding a bit, when these two were young little brats, this identity crisis was utilised by them to their favour! At school the mischief monger would put on an innocent face and conveniently blame the other twin for all the mischief done. And it’s not too soon before he gets paid back for it by his sibling in just the same manner!

And now… as they are stepping into the threshold of family hood, there is all likelihood that such identity crisis would repeat itself on several occasions. What if Suchit’s ‘would be in-laws’ walk up to Sumit and proudly introduce him as their ‘would be son-in-law’, to their relatives. And amidst the introduction, when Sumit is enjoying the fun, Suchit walks up from behind and says, “Excuse me… I am Suchit… he is Sumit. And Sumit, your ‘would be in-laws’ thought I was you and are now looking out for the actual Sumit!” At this point, I guess I have successfully managed to confuse you too at this possible scenario.

Here, I take liberty in letting my imagination run a little wild for the sake of some self entertainment! How would the situation be if the lovely brides too were twins! What if Jyoti and Rita were twins!? This means… double in one more aspect… the identity crisis also doubles! The boys, who were till date on the fun side of the identity confusion, now would be on the receiving end!

Consider the following hypothetical situations…

Situation No: 1: Suchit wants to introduce his fiancé, Rita to his room mates. He looks around the hall and sees his bride. He smiles and waves to her and signals her to come over. She returns the smile, and rushes to him. The introduction takes place fine…. Hmmm…. or so he thinks!! There is a naughty twinkle in the girl’s eyes… just as the friends move on; she whispers into our hero, Suchit’s ears, “I am Jyoti!! Rita is over there…” pointing to a small gathering of giggling girls who were all party to the prank.

Situation No: 2: Sumit wants a picture to be taken on his digicam to capture some special moments of his special day. He pulls over his fiancé and poses for a snap. But then all of a sudden… just as his sister is about to click, he stalls her and turns to his bride. He gives her look of concentration… a tinge of suspicion creeps in his mind… and he stares at her for a few long seconds… his expression changes to desperation…“Is she really Jyoti!!?”. All the while Jyoti looks on at him with concern wondering what was going on… The expressions are perfect and the sister loses no time in capturing this candid moment on camera!

I guess I have been entertained enough for the time being… so lets return to reality. Thankfully ‘ANAND’ would have to deal with just one pair of twins. And thankfully the two have decided to grace the occasion in different coloured attires. The ‘ANAND’ clan eagerly awaits this unique dual betrothal ceremony. Designer sarees and their silk counterparts would be flaunted by the excited ladies of the household. The unison of three families would take place. Excitement and exhilaration would surpass every other emotion and amidst all that… A pleasant loving welcome awaits the beautiful brides!!

Spoof Writing... :D

How good is Indian Govt in crisis management?

The Govt of India and crisis management? Are you reminding me of ‘opposites’ I used to learn in my Fourth Grade English class?? Confusion, chaos, Indian Govt – they are synonyms for you! Look from any angle, and you will fail to connect these with crisis management!





Oh! I am sorry. A branch of management that our politicians know for sure – ‘Birthday Party Management’. Just about a few lakhs are spent on celebrating the (happy!) Birthday of a minister who gives a toothless grin and says he is so touched by the love and care people shower on him!! Doesn’t the oldy get a hint that these are nothing but ‘Maska-Chaska’. The sidekicks waiting to step into the current birthday ‘baby’s’ chores someday are the proud and efficient ‘Event Managers’ here!


Any real crisis to be discussed – say shortage of water, starvation, illiteracy – and you can sit back on your couch with pop corn and watch an Indian remake of ‘Star Wars’ but due to inadequate technological support (and for mere convenience!!) flying saucers are replaced by mikes, books, desks or anything at all that comes to their reach. (Statutory Warning : Make sure you are safe at home and not at the location!!) and the set of course is the one and only Parliament House!!


My my… look at them enjoying… and you talk about crisis management? With such entertainers…crisis situations won’t ever seem like it, they will in fact be the start of a new flick comedy or thriller – may be Gladiator next time??! Wait n watch…

Oh! The Trip!!

“You have WON!!!!” yelled my cousin. She was talking about the contest I had entered two months ago. The prize offered was two tickets to Paris. All we had to do was write out a funny slogan and the best entry wins. I had fancied my chances of winning, since, as everyone does, I had judged my slogan to be unique and eligible. But when I actually heard the news I first couldn’t believe it. The actual thought of winning didn’t occur to me, and I had just fancied going to Paris quite a few times.

I would check my horoscope everyday to see if there were any predictions regarding foreign travel mentioned. I would collect every little information about the tourist spots in Paris. I would even secretly observe everyone around, to see if anyone looked at e with envy. But nothing did happen for a long time and finally when it did, it happened in a big way!!

Everyone of my cousins was eager and anxious to know which one of them I would take with me to Paris. They did all they could to please me in every way and I enjoyed every bit of it. I actually wanted to take all of them, but that wasn’t quite possible as the tickets were only two. Anyway, there is still time, I thought. There were two months or so before I had to fly.

I got special treatment even at school. My friends fought to sit next to me, share their lunch or even to lend their books. I enjoyed it all. It wasn’t my fault they didn’t win, and I don’t get this treatment everyday!! So I made the most of it!

My little sister too would go out of the way to make me hapy. Once she even bought me an ice-cream, which for her was quite expensive. In fact I did consider taking her along with me. But that wouldn’t be fun, as I would have to be responsible for her and act as ‘Big Sister’. Nah. That wasn’t my idea of having fun. Okay maybe I could get her something really nice from Paris.

My parents, were just happy for me, they didn’t want to go with me, as they knew I would prefer taking a friend or cousin along on such trips. They just kept saying, I must take someone responsible with me.

“Wow!” I thought my first trip abroad. I sighed and visualized and. . . .


T R R R R R . . . . . . . I N G!!. . . . . . THUD!!


Ouch!! What was that??!!
It was 6:30am, and end of another dream!
Ouch my back! Ouch my trip to Paris!!

Exam Fever!

WHACK! Got him. I had finally managed to eliminate the mosquito, which I was aiming at for the past few minutes. It was 10:52 pm. Sunday. I was at my desk with my books open in front of me. I suppose, I was studying.

Yes! I was doing maths, not one of my best subjects. I had my exams – BOARD exams, in two days. BOARD EXAM. Those words used to scare me until a few days back and now,… I was actually going to experience it.

I wished that I could fast forward my life, by a month, when I would be free of exams and could have fun. But that was fantasy. Coming back to reality, I had my MATHS BOARD EXAM the day after tomorrow.

The atmosphere was so silent. I could picturize people in my neighbourhood cozily cuddled in their beds, asleep. “Then why do I have to study?”, I wanted to ask. But to whom? Everyone went through this phase in life once too, so I am no exception.

MATHS. MATHS. MATHS. The open books kept saying, or so it seemed. My mind kept wandering and now I decided I had to solve some problems.

I kept hearing, “And the Oscar goes to …” quite a few times, which crept through the closed doors to my room. I tried so hard not to think of the Oscar Awards Ceremony that was going on, on television. Not fair that my little sister gets to watch it when I cant. She was the only one, beside me, awake at that hour. Studying in class 7, she was enjoying life, while I sat and slogged with Maths. Trigonometry at the moment.

After sometime, I decided to get serious and care les about the happenings of the surrounding. Just as I pondered over a mystifying problem, my sister barged inside and started chanting, “My Hero got an Oscar, my Hero got an Oscar.” Huh! Do I care? I would have if she had solved my problem for me. Thanks to her, I got distracted again. This time, I gave up and decided I would continue on the morrow. It was 11:45pm. Almost an hour and I had managed to do only 6 problems.

Well, that was how my life was when I was in class X. I still remember that day – 3rd of June, when our results were put up on the net. I sat up till midnight to check my results. I couldn’t believe my marks and rechecked to see if it really were mine! I had managed a 81% in Maths... after all that!! I was thrilled and overjoyed. I made the most of it in my class XI. I watched as many shows as I wanted to compensate.

But in spite of all this, there is still a fear of BOARD EXAMS inside me. There ought to be, this year, I face it all over again. This time, it will be more scary.