Truck Tales - part 2 -

Sunday - 14
Rohan reached Nanded at Dawn at 4.00 am.  Nanded is right next to the banks of river Godavari.The early morning chill in the air was cutting like little pins on his skin. He had taken the bus which travelled to Nanded. It reached Hadgoan at 1.30 am and the Nanded station at 3.50. The Nanded station looks like a Gurudwara.

As he got down the bus stand he felt the sudden hunger which was hurting his stomach. He looked around and found a tea stall. A cutting chai had never tasted so good before.

He decided to check up with the taxi service provider at 5.00 am even though he knew that the time was too early. But he got his next set of directions.

Seema was in Degloor a place very close to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

He tried to find some transport. He found none. Tried hiring a taxi but it was too early and he wanted to reach early as he wanted to also be back in Mumbai on Monday.

Thus he took a lift. A lift from a truck. Rohan found to his dismay that getting in this truck was hard. The door was too high and it took him some effort getting in.  The road from Nanded to Degloor was as smooth as moons surface. In fact there were so many potholes that the truck was flying at top speed and as it was going so fast, the truck was barely touching the ground.

The fields on view had black soil which is very fertile and grows cotton, soyabean and turi excellently.

At 8 am he had reached Degloor. The people as he found out could speak Marathi, Kannada and Telagu in the same sentence and breath. As he asked around, finally he where Seema was.

At 10 am he met Seema near the main centre. She was suprised to see him, she liked it - the gesture but she also found it stupid.

As they chatted, fought and pranked around 2 hours went by in no time.

Seema still had work to do and so Rohan joined her as she went about photo doumenting small villages, their agricultural crops and their lives over all. At around 4, when Rohan said he wanted to go back to Mumbai. But Seema would have none of it. She appreciated the adventure Rohan had gone through and she wanted to savior it, and Rohan going back was not a part of it.

" Go back on Tuesday. Call in sick tommorow".

And thus Rohan and Seema were together at last. They spent there time together as they were closer now than they were ever before.


There was still one more trip to happen, and this trip was to Hadgoan which Rohan and Seema did together to cover the bazaar day at Niwgabazar on Monday the 15th.

As Rohan slept on his journey back on Monday night in his train berth, his dreams carried visuals of Green fields from Wardha and the Black fertile soils of Nanded.

His life as he knew it would never be the same again.


A short story by Ninad Tatke.

Truck Tales - part 1

Ferry / Fairytale part 1

Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life....Love gives us a fairytale...!!


11 am – Saturday 13

As he walked around the main market road – Army Road, in Wardha . He called up Aarti and asked her to casual ask Seema when she can about her whereabouts.

Wardha is a town built largely by Bajaj family. There is a statue of Bajaj in the centre of the town which is next to a river.

Half an hour later he got his first bad news. Seema had lost her phone and now was not reachable. Rohan realized now, that tracing Seema would not be as easy as he imagined.

Some how he found out that Seema was in Kapsi.



4 pm – Friday 12

It was a normal office day in the cubicle of Janak Industries. Rohan had just spent his 6 minutes of break chatting around near the water cooler. His life was okay, he had a job in Mumbai which meant that his bills were paid on time, a girl friend - Seema he met mostly and perhaps only on weekends and a family back in Baroda.

Seema considered Rohan as a good guy but he felt that they could have something more. She felt Rohan did lack something in him. Seema was an adrenaline junky and she worked for an MNC as a free lance photographer.

Seema used to call Rohan the most predictable person on the face of the earth.

For Rohan everything was planned, strategized and had back ups. Seema usually just went with the flow.

He knew that Seema was going in the interiors of Maharashtra for some work this weekend.

24 hours later he was in the interiors of Maharashtra with no idea where Seema was.

4 pm – Saturday 13

After asking for directions in Kapsi in Wardha Maharashtra and hitching a ride in local seat sharing rickshaw, Rohan reached Waigoan also in Wardha and he decided to enquire about Seema to local people in the shops, the bus stand, the richshaw walas, and after talking with around 10 to 15 people, he was told by one person that he had seen a lady and a driver in a taxi at Patri.

Rohan decided to hire a rickshaw but no wanted to go to Patri right now. He offered money, but no one was bulging. Instinctively Rohan waved a truck going towards Patri and started his journey towards patri. On a normal day this activity of hitch hiking on a truck itself would have been his Facebook message but today was not a normal day.

The fields of Wardha were very beautiful as the green crops moved about in gracious wind in the golden sunlight. It was a great view, but Rohan had his mind elsewhere.



Friday 5 pm. 12

As Rohan was unsure what to buy for Seema on her Birthday, he called up a common friend Aarti. Aarti suggested a few things but said that what she (Seema) would love the most is to spend some quality time with you. Rohan thought let me find her and meet her in her project right now. That shall be a great surprise for her. He did ask her where she was ofcourse over the phone. But he did not know that finding her would lead to him finding himself.

Thus Rohan started on to the journey which started on a train in Dadar, and began in Wardha.

7 pm Saturday 13

As he asked the local shops and the main centre in Patri, Rohan knew now that Seema was in a taxi which had a Kolhapur number. He immediately used net to call up taxi services in Kolhapur and 20 minutes later he knew the taxi service provider who had rented out a taxi to go to Wardha and then to Degloor in Nanded. Now he knew that he had to reach Nanded tomorrow to meet her and to surprise her. He saved the taxi operators number and started towards Nanded.


A short story by Ninad Tatke.
To be continued...

The Lady who lifts an elephant everyday.

I have seen India. At-least glimpses of it. From the royal deserts of Rajastan, to the snowy peaks of Himachal, to the bazaars of Kolkata and of course the lifeline full of mad working people city like Mumbai.

But during my last trip down south, I saw something which did not make sense.

In a remote village, it was evening time and I had just finished my days work. As I was getting ready to leave the village, I saw a lady (Amma) lifting an adult elephant in her arms and carrying him upstairs in her house through the open gate in her front yard. For a few moments, I was unsure that this is what I saw, but eventually as I convinced myself on its factuality, I started getting a feeling that I may well be losing my mind.

I walked to a near by tea shop and ordered a cutting chai. The chai wala saw the stunned face I had and he enquired.

"Kyu sahib, saab theek?" (Is everything alright)

Then observing my silence, he explained what I had just seen.

Chaiwala, " I think you just saw amma lifting the elephant"

I nodded.

" That elephant was badly hurt and feverish little orphan baby elephant when Amma decided to take care of him 10 years back. As the elephant was a baby, he was scared after dark and so every evening Amma lifted him and took him upstairs to take care of him.

This has continued over the years and every evening, Amma continues to carry him upstairs even though now elephant has grown up and has become quite heavy. But Amma never felt that as she is lifting something heavy as lifts him everyday and now is used to lifting its weight."


I thought the story so fascinating needed to be told so I called up an journalist friend of mine and , so the elephant would be impossible to lift if we try, now is on the cover  of all major newspapers today happy in Amma's arms.

As for Amma herself, she is puzzled and questions the reporter - Hey what is this buzz all about?





A short Story- By Ninad Tatke.

Pune Watch - see me now and now you dont

What happens to a dream deferred ?

For some reason this Langston Hughes line keeps coming to my mind regularly and though it means something very thoughtful and deep, I tend to use it very shallowly on most occasions - occasions such as today.

Why do I say a dream deferred?

1. Today I was in Pune and yet not quite in Pune.

2. I did speak with most of the people I wanted to speak and yet I felt that there was so much that went unspoken.

In-fact for the first time I was bound by time and its measures.

3. For today I saw many sites, acad block, the audi the canteen the library and they did not make me nostalgic,  in fact they seemed ghostly, as in distant memories from my past. And I realized that on the personal level these places do matter to me but the people matter more.

4. I did not even enjoy the cola cola can from the canteen.

Having said so I did like coming in the campus. I liked the green canopy which welcomes as we climb up the hill. I liked the new sign boards and the gates. Also I liked the fact that i got to see and meet a few people I like.

The city of Pune which I was in briefly didnt seem to notice that I was there. Oh wait or was it the other way around!

By Ninad Tatke.  

Nau Ratri. The Day. This is it!

It came and it went quickly. There was not much time to comprehend then about what was right and what was wrong.

The preparation was this was extensive and I had to at times go crazy but in the need, all the skills were not utilized due to shortage of time and what I did would perhaps clear me and help me achieve my goal.

And after the day now,  I feel emptiness. I pray that what I did was enough and now I have to find something else to look up to.

----------------

In case any one really wants to know, what this Nau rathi is all about. What is the symbolic meaning, drop in a comment with your email id. I will answer your query.

By- Ninad Tatke.

Nau Rathri - The count down Day 8.

When Durga gets angry, she turns Kali.


When energy is focused into a single motive, The means are created on their own and path ways are found.

Day 8:

Some times after a honest's day's work, one can just pray and hope that all goes well. The effort has been full and intention has been good. Now its time to keep working till the end and keep praying right till the end.

RIP Steve Jobs

Note : The picture does not belong to me, all rights belong  with its rightful owners.

2 years and a few months ago, I began understanding what Apple is. I cant safely say I know what Apple is even now but I am better equipped now.

I cursed Apple at times, at times I loved it.

But all along I admired the brain, the dedication and the marketing of Apple -Company.

Steve Jobs for me, and I am sure for many others, was the face of Apple.



Every generation is defined by who lived at that time. It is perhaps called an era. Steve Jobs was definitely a person who lead an era.

He is someone, I considered as an icon. He is no more. May his soul find peace.



By Ninad Tatke.

Nau Rathri - The count down Day 7.

When Durga gets angry, she turns Kali.


When energy is focused into a single motive, The means are created on their own and path ways are found.

Day 7.

The Day was tough and the even though there was will, the way and the opportunity was limited. It was frustrating as there was so much the life wanted to do that day.  It was a real bad day for the motive.

Now the crucial day bekons as we enter the last push. The last slurge to the sprint at the finish line.

Nau Rathri - The count down Day 6.

When Durga gets angry, she turns Kali.

When energy is focused into a single motive, The means are created on their own and path ways are found.

Day 6. When the protagonist enters a different mix.

A day full of excitement and journey. It was an enjoyable day and new challenges from the future are beggining to show their shadows.

On  the single point agenda, there is still a lot that needs to be done and though only a small part of the day could be devoted to it, it was wotrh the effort. When it is the priority, effort and progress no matter small is always worth the while.

Nau Ratri - The count down. Day 4 and 5

When Durga gets angry, she turns Kali.

When energy is focused into a single motive, The means are created on their own and path ways are found.

Day 4.

A day full of action with some results gratifying instantly. Though a lot of scope for improvement and creation of new paths and strategies.

Day 5.

A  Day with prior commitments (other than the core focus) and yet very satisfying in its way. Achieved some good things. Still its yet the time to step up to the plate.

Day 6 to Day 9 leading upto Day 10th is going to be interesting and also very crucial. 

I pray that Goddess Durga is with me and she shows me the way.

  

Nau Ratri - The count down. Day 3

When Durga gets angry, she turns Kali.

When energy is focused into a single motive, The means are created on their own and path ways are found.

Day 3.

It was a day when the effort taken matched up with the requirements, ofcourse there were other obligations and things which were long overdue and yet the time required was put today through persistence and proper communication. Though It may take a lot of determination and focus to make Day 4 a success.