A Ghost’s Foolish Desire

Scary !!!! Not at all :P,if you want to have a laugh,read on….

On the outskirts of a town, there was a small temple. On the road from village to the temple, there was a big tree on roadside where a young ghost used to live. Every day he used to think.’ So many devotes visit the temple in morning and evening to offer their prayers. If the God actually helped them why would they continue to visit the temple?’

The ghost observed a businessman, a teacher and a poor lady visited the temple everyday. One evening, seeing the businessman lone, he came down from tree and asked him, “Dear Sir, Why do you keep going to the temple each day? If you tell me, I can help you better than God”. The businessman at first got scared but slowly he gathered courage and said,”How can you help me? I am a rich man and I am having no problems in life. But I am not getting any sleep at night. Neither medicines nor my prayers seem to work. Still I visit to temple for some peace.” The ghost replied,” May be you are afraid of robbers. I will do something to cure you. But, will you promise to build a temple in my honor? “

“Temple for a ghost! Its unheard of. But you are fine on a tree” said the businessman. The ghost got angry and said “I want to live in a temple and receive prayers, it’s my wish! I will give you sleep, you build a temple for me, agreed?” The man nodded and went away.

After sometime, seeing the teacher, he inquired the same. The teacher replied in a timid voice, “I have a daughter of marrying age but I have no wealth to arrange a wedding “The ghost uttered, “I will provide solution by tonight. But promise me when the merchant builds a temple, you will establish my statue there.” The teacher nodded and went on his way.

Next came the poor woman. After the questioning by ghost, the woman started crying and said, “My husband wastes everything on alcohol. We have nothing to eat.”The ghost replied, “I will arrange such that your husband stops taking liquor. But, after the businessman builds my temple and teacher puts my statue there, will you offer me your flowers and prayers?” The woman gladly agreed.

Next day, seeing the businessman again, the ghost eagerly came down and asked, “Now all your problems are solved and you will get good sleep” The man roared”You wicked soul, To give me sleep you converted my wealth to ashes! By evening, if you don’t convert it back, I will conjure the exorcist ” “Ok,Ok,I will take back my magic” uttered the ghost in low tone.

After that, the moment the ghost came out as the teacher approached the tree; the teacher shouted, “Buffoon, You changed my daughter to a boy as a solution! Change it back or I will have the exorcist teach you a good lesson” The ghost replied,” Have mercy sir, I will change your daughter back to a girl”

Next, the poor lady came near the tree fuming and yelled,”Where are you Fraud! To refrain my husband from alcohol, you induced him to coma! Did I ask you for this? Just wait, I am calling the sorcerer.”The ghost started begging, ”Madam, please don’t do it. I will make your husband well” and then returned to tree and sat in gloom.

An elder ghost came near him and said, “I have been watching your foolish works. People go to temple because they have faith in God. Their wishes may not come true yet their devotion will remain. Who will worship a ghost! Start praying to God yourself and you might get nirvana.” The younger ghost silently nodded.

Source-Chandamama

Did you like the story ? Give me a shout! Stay tuned for more Saturday stories 🙂

Love Thy Neighbours ? Nah !

It was one of the hottest Summer night and almost Dinner time.Streets were empty and you could hear the faint hum of TV or Coolers. A man walked up the stairs and reached the door of the house. As he put the key in the lock,he was thinking of the last 7 day hectic schedule,the  important audit in his bank,so much work,finally over,now all he wanted was to relax and sleep through the Saturday night to Sunday bliss.

‘Clink !’ the lock opened.He entered and put on the light switch.For next few seconds , his eyes accustomed to the room and then it started.He smelled it in the air. Stuffy would be too kind word,the next few moments his mind was blank with the stench to coin out a better word ! Has something died ? He opened the Master bedroom,nothing odd except some dried twigs ! As he approached the second bedroom,he already had few guesses,he opened the door and then, he felt like choking. By the courtesy of the next-door(actually skylight) neighbors,the room had become a perfect example of Pigeon toilets !

He retreated hastily,locked the door and immediately took a 30 min drive to a village where his wife was enjoying her stay with her parents. So much for relaxation ! The Sunday morning was wasted in the cleanliness drive before the couple could finally heave a sigh of relief.If you have not guessed yet,they are my parents 😀

Last few days, Pigeons have been a predominant  talk among few of us in WP.(Please refer this to know more “Moment”). And amidst the love and hate war for Dovekind, I had to share my personal experience. I do like birds but come on, do I have to invite the entire clan to my bedroom ! This incidence made me remember of my stay last January at home.

Our living room is detached from the house and has a balcony as large as a kid’s bedroom. An ideal place for morning tea and evening chatters and I especially enjoy reading books and observing pigs,goats,cows and few people sometimes. Every room of the house has round skylights and even the balcony has one for decorative purpose.Well,they have become the perfect abode for these freeloaders.

Pigeons/Dove prefer houses to trees,but they are obsessed with it,I came to know it from Mom.As they were building up nests in every skylight they could find,mom had large bundle of papers wrapped in plastic fill those skylights.Otherwise,not a day passed when bedrooms had pigeon droppings,egg shells and twigs in them. Did it stop them ? No ! …..Mom’s words ,”After I had all skylights stacked with paper footballs,I waited to see their next move.One Dove came to the skylight of balcony,he tried to tug it but he couldn’t.He retreated.I felt like I won the battle . Few minutes later,I saw he came back with few more and they started pulling it together ! “

No,they didn’t succeed in pulling it out but they did manage to loosen it up and the Dove couple who were the original owners of the skylight manage to wriggle in atop the paper ball and rejoice in their ready-made nest ! Time passed,they continued living, punching out babies on regular basis and mom was helpless to do anything about it,lest there were babies inside. End of story ? Nope ! 😉

The story reaches the then present where mom and I are sipping tea and talking about it. By this time,the Dove couple had another offspring who was few months old so they had given him some knowledge of the world and kicked him out of their nest to our balcony( No doubt readying cot for another 😛 )

So,this little fella sat in the ledge 24×7 and never uttered a sound.Mommy used to come in morning and evening for feeding and those few minutes,he shrieked in delight. Now,Mommy had instructed the boy, “Son,the world is a playground.Use it ” Apparently mommy had been feeding him too well.And ledge was not enough,so the entire balcony underwent redecoration.

As it was a regular companion,I decided to name him.The first name flashed in my mind ‘Martanda’ . The old grannies in village used a powder concoction made out salts and something else which used to be tangy and super-salty ( remedy for constipation,they said). As a kid,I often tried to taste it but my own grandmother hated it (citygirl as she was !) and forbade me to eat it(as if it could happen 😉 ). As it was named ‘Martanda’ and had a stink too not like Pigeon litter but stinky nevertheless,the name suited well 😀

Now we reach an abrupt end of the story because I had to return.Mom says,my Martanda learned flying and was gone to find a home for himself. Mommy and Daddy still busy in family planning, my mother tussles with the freeloaders each day,the maid complains of the task of washing off the balcony everyday and Life goes on ! 🙄

Who Am I ?

Thanks to Crisisalive for this fun questionnaire.Anybody who wants to take a closer peek on Me can continue to read. 😉

What prompted you to start Blogging?
Bored, Clueless and one day the idea hit me to begin a journey of me, by me, for me.

How did you pick out your Blog name?
The name had to have ‘world’ in it because I wanted to spread smiles and it had to have something of me too, so ‘round’ (Don’t dare to call me overweight, I am just…. ‘round’ ) 😉

What is something that you think your writing lacks?
Actually, everything. Poems and photos save me a bit. But, when I write paragraphs, they look dull,too much words and I feel ‘could have been way better.’

Do you prefer chaos or order?
Chaos !! 😀 I am forgetful about picking up and putting back things same place and many more things and my favorite self-invented quote is “It is good to be unorganized sometimes “ 😛

Introvert or extrovert?
Introvert/Invisible where I hate to be. Extrovert everywhere else.

What would be your idea of a perfect “You” day?
Cloudy day, cool breeze, a natural place to roam around minus a big crowd, a small bit of knickknacks shopping and delicious food… but one can’t have all at same time  why,why,why ?

Besides writing what do you do to express yourself?
I paint a bit. Lately, toying around with MS Paint too(its crazy but fun ! see the pic above). I love to make round faces of me with noodle hairs. And some days,I try to replicate the food I had savored somewhere(it better not fail or I will be bent on doing it again and again next day and next 😦 ).

What do you feel defines you?
I am simple would be an innocent word,I am gullible makes more sense.It makes me victim of many many deceptions but the one or two people who remain know behind this simpleton is a loyal and artless person.

Early bird or a night owl?
Early bird; too early actually.By 9.30pm,half-read comic slips somewhere inside blanket and specs may tilt anyway they like until few minutes later I crawl to make a final gigantic effort to set them aside.

If you could go back in time and tell yourself one thing what would it be?
‘Trust yourself more and don’t give in to others’

Spiritual or Religious?
A bit spiritual ? I believe in what my soul justifies.As long as it doesn’t cause you discomfort or makes others’ lives hell and you find peace in it,that’s all that matters.

Thanks for reading.Have a Wonderful Day 🙂

Weekends with Birdbrains

Ever since I got my camera,I have been going crazy about capturing some birds in crystal clear pics just like I have done with squirrels.Now,I have been wondering why do all the birds have nested in Peepal tree some 50m away from me and no one comes to Neem tree adjacent to my terrace (My camera meekly whispers ‘So far !’) .The Neem tree is tall ,big,shady and yet,only squirrels hop around all day.

The idea of feeder(in informal manner) worked for squirrels ,so dear birds,how about having nuts for a try ? 😦  Finally,I found the answer.By now,I have turned into a half-baked ornithologist. Every Holiday,I stand in terrace since 8 am and observe the movements in the Peepal tree. Slowly,eyesight is getting clearer and so are question clouds.When I snapped this bird,I was under the illusion that its a Dove who looks green because of some Sunlight trickery. As I observed more,I found out that this is no dove,its cry also is different from that of Dove( see,my hearing is getting better too 😉 )

 The more I saw,the more it got funny. All day,it eats and eats and eats.I have not seen it flapping its wings or take a turn around the tree.It just hops and eats the Peepal fruits and shakes the whole branch(quite powerful pull !). After a frantic eating spree,it settles down on a branch for few minutes and then repeats the process.The result is, a round small greenish yellow fluffy ball rolling on the branch 😀

 P.S Finally learned the name,thanks to WP friends ,its name is just as it looks ! ‘Yellow footed Green pigeon’. 😛

Geographic Reasons

Once upon a time,in a small village named Sitapur there lived a milkman. Almost every household bought milk from him.Furthermore,the milkman also supplied milk to the nearby village Rampur.

One day, Somu from Sitapur went to Rampur on certain business.There he came to know that the milkman is charging lesser amount for the milk he is supplying to natives of Rampur. Somu grabbed the milkman and shouted,” You traitor,how dare you charge more from your own village people ?”

The milkman replied in a sheepish tone,” Don’t get so angry Brother.Our village has scarcity of water. But there is a lucid pond on the way to Rampur.Due to this geographical reason,it is possible to charge milk on lesser price .”

Source- Hearsay 😉

I am not good story telling.Nevertheless,this is a humble attempt to share some folk tales from India; To begin your weekend or go to sleep on Friday night with a smile 🙂

If you liked this one,do give a shout and don’t forget to watch out for more Saturday stories 😀

Guest Post- Lost and Found

Have you ever found a lost pet ? What did you do then ? Did you give a second thought about it? Please read this post by ‘Peace’ on rescued pets. Whether you are an animal lover or not, its the humanity that’s makes us human being and not the name.

Click below link to read it–

Lost and Found.

The Art of Swimming

Making friends and exchanging ideas have been a great boon for me ! Only today,a WP friend suggested me to retell some Indian stories from the old era.And I thought why not keep a day for stories,to start Saturday in a different mood than usual ! So,I have come up with the idea to try and post a short story based on different moods/themes each Saturday(I will try maintain the regularity 😉 )

Story of the Day- The Art of Swimming

Once upon a time,there was an old apothecary in a small village.He was in great demand in his own village as well as nearby villages.One stormy night,he was called upon for a very difficult case to nearby village.He tried his best but couldn’t save the patient.The furious relatives started chasing to beat him up.

The old doctor ran and ran amidst heavy rain and thunder and he reached the river separating his native village from this one.The river had already risen and flashes of lightening showed the inclement waves ready to engulf everything.The old man looked back and saw the angry mob still charging towards him.Scared,without any second thought,he jumped into the river.Having no knowledge of swimming,he almost drowned but somehow was able to reach the other bank. No one from the mob dared to jump into the flooded river,so the doctor was safe.

It was midnight when he reached his home.As he entered,he saw his son reading a book on medicine.The apothecary sighed and spoke “Son,you won’t succeed in medical profession by reading the medical books alone,the art of swimming is essential as well”

~The End(Courtesy- Chandamama magazine)

What do you think of the story ? Waiting eagerly for your comments,good,bad anything ? 😀

How would you like to join hands with me? The story can be your own or from another source but retold by you in your own words with proper credit.

Please let me know if you are interested on my email roundworldnme@gmail.com

Mystery

The Walls tell a tale
of a love,of bravery and wars
Time has crumbled inside,
Stories untold,songs never heard

The thrill a king felt
when he saw love’s refulgent face
at the little window on top
on a full moon night
How the Queen held her tears
and sent the king to battle
with a radiant smile

Secret tunnels for lover’s rendezvous
Secret paths that lead to death
And trees where a soldier hid
For a glance of princess and friends

‘Its time to return’ a voice said
A dream or voices in the wind ?
Ruins that were glorious in their prime
Now they hold mysteries with passage of time..

——

P.S Don’t forget check out ColorPalette today for some more pictures of these ruins.This poem is based on the Photo101 theme ‘mystery’

Girl, A Burden on Society ? Or its other way around

What’s The Difference ?

Why do I hate this country many times ? Because people never learn nor evolve ! They like to think their ignorance as the supreme knowledge and if you are born a boy,it becomes your birthright to have an upper hand in everything. Why am I refusing to control my anger today ?

A few days back, the Vice-Chancellor of a nationally renowned government university issued a notice that ‘Girls won’t be allowed to the university library as they distract boys and hamper their studies’. Since when education itself is biased with genders ? In the last decade, massive efforts have been made to educate girl child and also improve the position of women, how can the head of an educational institution negate this and in turn insult the entire nation and government. Nation is yet in the process of answering back but luckily government is already grabbing the guy’s neck. Though he is now saying he didn’t mean it but he still continues to say that lack of space may lead to difficult in accommodating more students etc etc.

Probes, reports will continue in paperwork and the outcomes will remain in papers but what has happened in these 2 days in India ?

One of my friend works in a famous Engineering College in New Delhi, The National Capital. A discussion among colleagues happened on this. Majority of the male colleagues heartily supported the idea ! (Read the term heartily!) One of them said in face “It’s a very good idea. It has already been implemented in my region, now it’s good to see it growing “ .The worst part is there were few female lecturers in the group, yet none of them uttered a single word !

In a second conversation my friend had with another group consisting of all males, the viewpoints grew bolder. One said “This is a good idea. Whenever I am near women, I get distracted and unable to control myself. How can one study in such environment? ” (This makes me wonder how this guy teaches a class and how he sees every girl in the class and elsewhere! Utterly repulsive) Another person even said to my friend “Sir, this is indeed a proper move. Why are you so against it ? And you are the only one here who thinks otherwise ! “

Go to a google news or any other news platform someday. Pick any news and read it and then see the comment section .Many times I believe, learn a bit from some school and then learn how to operate a computer and you are ready to express your opinion which you consider as equivalent to any philosopher and even God. The worst part is you will find more followers than others ! In this case, it was no different. The comments from the youths (who themselves must have studied in co-education at some point and seen how girls perform well in studies) showed a demented mindset.

Here are few examples–
Comment 1: It’s a great move. Girls are meant only for housework and sex.(many likes ! )
Comment 2: I strongly support this. Girls should be pulled out from schools and confined to home. If they protest, their limbs should be cut.
Comment 3 (disagreeing): Why are you agreeing with this regressive move. ? Look at JNU.Its world famous and students from all over the world come to study here. The girls here have full freedom and the environment is also best for study “
Comment 4 (in reply to comment 3): Girls don’t go to study there, they go there to get f****d.( revised from the original obscene comment )

After reading all this, I ceased wondering why the crime rates are ever increasing despite harsher punishment. Rapes are becoming a fashion! “Unemployed, Bored, let’s do it !””Want some free fun and showoff of brutal masculinity, let’s go for it ! ““Age doesn’t matter as long its girl “

The results are shocking and reveal the ugly face of the youth who are supposedly the face and strength of modern India. The worst part is we have been working or studying with them or have interacted and yet we never knew.

A small ray of hope—I don’t know if I should praise the Newspapers on awareness created by endless news on the above topics or assume it as sensational advertisement (Sometime I hate to see the front page). However, this particular piece made a me slightly happy and hopeful.Two guys rescued a 3 year old girl in train and nabbed the kidnapper. If only each person saw a woman as a being worth care, love, freedom and respect, the world would be a place worthy of life itself.

Monkeying Around

Hi Everyone,I am not very good at humor but if this made you smile a little,it will be a reward for me. 🙂 Any comments and criticisms are welcomed 😉

No Homework Today !

Last week,I joined the Photography101 class on WP and in 5 days,I feel like I am in high school and each day is an exam ! Its challenging,exhausting yet its alluring 🙂 Weekends are off but I don’t feel the stamina to write anything much.

Thanks to all my friends here who had to put up with double posts in a single day few times 😀 I won’t bore you on weekends ,so have a great weekend ❤

If some of you have not catch up yet about my photo101 trials and fun,here’s the link ColorPalette

or else click on the beautiful swan on the right of my blog . 😉

The Moon and Little Ninja Foes

After ogling at fabulous moon pictures by fellow bloggers and lamenting over why can’t I do it, my head screamed  Why is my camera so dumb or is it me ; well questions didn’t help but hard work did . 🙂 Click here for my best full page version of moon

It was a full moon night and I was fired up to do something about the moon.I had to make this camera work on my terms ! For first 15 minutes,I tried in fireworks mode(I own a point-shoot camera),I got the white globes and countless similar ones to my exasperation.Adding to my agony were the unseen night marauders,the mosquitoes searching every part of me for a hot drink ! Hey,I am not your subway but who cared 😦

Slowly in the next quarter,it started getting better,I could actually see the valleys and mountains in the screen.Now,I thought I am almost there.Apparently,’what you see on the screen is not guaranteed to be delivered in same color and shape ! ‘ What did I get,look below for the masterpiece of similar anomalies.

It was thousand light years away from the very definition of ‘Moon’ cry cry 😦

This was enough to make me retreat red-faced and wondering,how will a camera capture a millisecond firework phenomena if its taking 4 secs in so called ‘firework mode’.Nikon’s tall claims and taller photos in its website,pffff…

15 minutes to regain the fire, apply some medicine on the numerous tiny bumps( not due to excitement but courtesy of some evil blood suckers) ,I was back on terrace.A thought hit my mind(someone else said it few days back 😛 ) “Try all of them one by one if you fail once” This time,I started changing the modes in anticipation and less hope but at night landscape mode ,I finally hit the Jackpot !

In case you have missed earlier,the link of the final image to celebrate this success in a bigger way is here.

The Man Who Captured Happiness

Look at the picture, what do you see ? Forget the mega pixel or clarity or background etc etc … Can you feel the happiness ? That’s the photography that allured me to try and capture the joys on camera. I was a kid so I couldn’t exactly give this reason then but the emotion touched me somewhere which I never let go. If you haven’t guessed yet, the kid in front is me around 20 years back and the lazy sleepyhead behind is my cousin Ann (She will kill me for these praises 😉 ) and the man behind the camera is my father, my inspiration.

Back then,Digital camera was never heard of. Very few people owned a Film camera. Studios bustled with business. I remember the background props/cloth screens of different colors and designs of which floral, beach with coconut trees, gardens looked very much straight from movies 🙂 .

As I was saying, personal cameras were rare, the bank my father worked in had a much convenient solution. The entire staff had bought a film camera together and as per the necessity, it was lent to the members. You could use some part of the film or use the entire roll and replace it with new one. The silver color body, big round lens and leather stripes, oh, I can still feel that magical thing in my palms.

Now,Ann and her family used to visit us once in every two years or so, hence it used to be a special occasion for us kids to be photographed. But….infront of camera, I was a soldier in ‘attention’ pose. It took a lot coaxing to loosen up and manage a smile. Many times either I ended up as a monkey-face or replica of Arnold Schwarzenegger (recall the Terminator 2 😉 ) Unlike the digital camera where I am shooting and discarding images at will, it was a one shot call, two at max with unknown outcomes. It makes me realize what an uphill task it was for Dad.

With Mom; Shabby because I re-clicked the photo with cameraphone

As any grown up,I prefer to be more behind the lens and the busy schedules keep me and my dad apart for such fun things to happen again. I walk the path on my own now trying to find and capture the same smiles and joys around and I know I have a long way to go. As I look in to my childhood snaps time to time, my playful acts maximum of which I can’t remember, these photos evidence a beautiful childhood and that there was someone who carefully garnered all of them knowing they will be a priceless treasure one day.

Thank you Bapa ! ❤

When Kitchen Comes Calling

Okay,this is new ! I have never talked about my culinary skills before.My taste buds  are always in search of great food and I am more of ‘Sit,relax and savor the dishes by others’ 😉 I am a decent cook myself but I need a gigantic push to enter the kitchen.Moreover,routine cooking; yawn ! So,I need to challenge myself to try something new for my lunch or dinner.

I always love the Mexican crepes ,the yummy look and flavor and I gaze and gaze on the images on google or on youtube.If I can’t feast my stomach,I can feast my eyes atleast,right ? This Sunday I was ready to try it on my own.Now,I don’t like all-purpose flour because apparently its harmful for health in long-term.Also,some of the exotic herbs were missing.With some different twists the result was Indian style crepes made out of Whole wheat flour and veggies etc etc.

Side look

Don’t get scared,it was as yummy as it looks. 😉 Phew,all those hours of effort finally paid off. 😀

Colors of Wind

COLOR PALETTE OF ADY ! Another adventure undertaking.I felt like my primary blog was getting chaotic and I didn’t know if I was a writer or photographer more.I am sure my readers too were getting confused about this.So,this second website in order to present you both the interests with more clarity. While I will focus more on writing on primary blog ’roundworld’,I will try my best to make ‘color palette’ a visual delight for you.

Many Many thanks ! 😀

Color Palette

A great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache.

~ Catherine the Great

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