Freedom at last

This was story i wrote for an exam. I don't think it came out very well.

FREEDOM AT LAST

Martha Young pottered about the kitchen making toast and tea for breakfast. She set the water to boil and put the bread in the toaster. Meanwhile, she folded the laundry and made the bed. After the water boiled and the toast was done, she sat down with the morning paper and
her cup of tea and browsed through the news. At 9:00 sharp the phone rang and Martha answered it with a cheery, "Good morning Clark." Her son told her about his day at work and once again advised her to slow down and employ a maid. She answered, "Dear, we have had this
conversation so many times before. I need the housework to keep me busy. You don't worry about me and go to work." After a few more motherly admonishments she put the phone down and took out her grocery bag to go shopping. She bought a few odds and ends and then made her
way to the hospital.

As she entered the doors of Charleston General Hospital, Jim, the doorman said, "Good morning, Mrs.Young. How's the son?" She answered, "Fine, Jim. How are the wife and daughter? Has little Cassie started talking yet?" After exchanging a few more pleasantries, she made her
way to the elevator. On the way she enquired about the health of Susanne, the receptionist and chatted for a few minutes with Carla, the head nurse. Reaching the fifth floor she went straight into one of the rooms and started cleaning up.

The figure on the bed opened his eyes and said, "Hey Martha. So what's the latest news?" Martha opened the windows, put a bunch of fresh carnations in the vase by the bed and told him all the gossip she had heard. She went and sat next to him, smoothed the gray hair from his
forehead and kissed him on the cheek. "Jonathan dear," she began, "did you know the Sallie's daughter is to be married next week? I had hoped that Clark would be the one marrying her and but that boy just refuses to settle down. He will be the death of me." Jonathan took her
wrinkled hand is his and said, "Martha, will you stop bugging Clark about getting married. He is a strong, independent young man and will find a lovely girl soon enough." They talked for a little while longer and Martha got up to leave. "Bye Jonathan, I'll be back tomorrow. Don't flirt with Carla now. I might be old but I can still throw a good punch," she warned, with a mischievous grin. Jonathan had laughed and waved goodbye.

This was Martha's daily routine for the past few months. Ever since Jonathan was diagnosed with brain cancer, life was never the same.

Martha and Jonathan had met in high school and had fallen in love instantly. They were an odd pair. Jonathan was tall with lovely brown hair and eyes and Martha was short with blonde hair and eyes as gray as an overcast sky before the rains. Martha was a straight A student and Jonathan loved sports. He excelled at everything from baseball to basketball. It was a case of opposites attract and they got married soon after leaving college. They had a son named Clark and everything was going right in their little family until Jonathan started complaining of splitting headaches. He fell seriously ill. It was hard blow to all of them but resilient as they were they stood up straight and dealt with it head-on.

They had tried everything, chemotherapy, alternative medicine, nothing worked. It seemed as if God was bent on taking Jonathan away. The once healthy Jonathan, who always has time for a game of baseball with his buddies was reduced to a wisp of his former self. His mind and heart
were young, but his body refused to cooperate. Martha stood by him through everything. She was his backbone during the worst times, when he would sink into a crushing depression. Their love had endured and Martha was determined not to let her husband go without a fight.

One morning, Martha awoke as usual and went to the hospital for her daily visit. She reached her husband's room and saw Carla standing outside with a grim face. Carla said, "Darling, he died in his sleep late last night. He felt no pain and went peacefully. We tried our best to revive him but we failed. We waited for you to see him before we did anything else." Martha nodded silently and entered the room.

Her husband was lying on the bed, a peaceful smile on his face. Martha walked to him, lovingly stroked his hair, adjusted the sheet around his still body and whispered in his ear, "Goodbye darling. You are free at last. Your fight is over." She kissed his unmoving lips and took one long last look at his beloved face before straightening up and striding out to make the necessary funeral arrangements…….

Another speech

I wrote this one for the final round of a competition. I lost but I spoke well...

Developing Countries need Better Governance
The entire world is made of three types of countries namely the developed, developing and less developed countries. This demarcation or differentiation is usually done on the basis of mainly the economic development and to some extent the political.

India, Philippines, Nigeria, Columbia are some examples of the developing countries.

To understand what Governance means will be the first step before we understand what the role is in the developing countries. Although the concept of governance has gained popularity in the recent times it is still quite ambiguous. As per the World Bank’s definition it is the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social development. To be a little clearer on the idea it is the manner in which political leaders manage and use or misuse power—is the power used to promote social and economic development of the country or is it used to pursue such agendas that would undermine these goals.

When we talk about developing countries this governance takes on a totally new dimension because it is the back bone for them. The power and its use or misuse has a direct impact on the future of the country.

A main issue in governance is the alignment and horizontal coordination of markets, government hierarchies and networks. These three elements need to work in near perfect synchronization to ensure that the country is able to meet its goals.
Research shows that one of the main reasons for Africa’s under development is the lack of proper governance.

For a country to develop itself there need to be rule of law, accountability, transparency, and the enjoyment of human and civil rights. And these are possible only with strong governance. Another way of explaining what governance is the sharing of authority for public management between state and non state organizations. Simply put governance is the rules which regulate the relationships between the rulers and the ruled. And for a developing country it is imperative that the governance be so good that the concentration of power is not so much with the central government.

When we say good governance we are actually saying a government that is not corrupt and is for the development of the country. And what is most required for all developing countries is this kind of a clean government that can and will support the growth of the weakest section.

What we see in most of the developing countries are corrupt politicians for whom money is more than anything else and to the extent that money allocated for the public is misused and misappropriated. Years back the World Bank also saw how countries like China and Japan were affected by this governance issue.
What is the need of the hour is that all developing countries have a strong system for a strong governance.

The focus needs to be on making the government more decentralized and give the power concentration on local bodies that will directly help the people and not depend upon the central government.

It makes decision making easier and faster and more personalized.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every mountain and hill shall be made low, the rough places will be made smooth, the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. These words of Martin Luther King Jr were spoken years ago but they are still relevant for developing countries today and stronger governance is what will help us fulfill these dreams.

Never too busy for a friend

A really beautiful story i read in the chicken soup series.

NEVER TOO BUSY FOR A FRIEND

One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. She told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the rest of the period to finish their assignment and as the students left the room, each one handed over their papers. That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.

On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long the entire class was smiling. “Really” she heard whispers. “I never knew I meant that much to anyone!” and “I didn’t know others liked me so much” were some of the common comments. No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class with their parents, but it didn’t matter. The exercise had accomplished it’s purpose.

The students were happy with themselves and one another. In due course of time the students moved on. Several years later, one of the students was killed in Vietnam and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student.

She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature. The church was packed with his friends. One by one, those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin. As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pall-bearer came up to her. “Were you Mark’s Math teacher?” he asked. She nodded, “Yes.” At this he said, “Mark talked about you a lot.”

After the funeral, most of Mark’s former classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark’s mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher. “We want to show you something,” his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. “They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it.”

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times.

The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark’s classmates had said about him. “Thank you so much for doing that, “Mark’s mother said. “As you can see, Mark treasured it till the end.”

All of Mark’s former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, “I still have my list. It’s in the top drawer of my desk at home.” Chuck’s wife said, “Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album.” “I have mine too. It’s in my diary.” Marilyn said. Then Vicki, reached into her purse and showed her frazzled list to the group. “I carry this with me at all times.” Said Vicki and without batting an eyelash, she continued, “I think we all saved our lists.” That’s when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all of his friends who would never see him again.

The density of people in the society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day and we don’t know when that day will be. So, tell the people you love and care for. Don’t hesitate to express that they are special and important. Tell them before it’s too late.

My friend Anne

One of my best stories. I read it somewhere else and did my own version of it. I wrote it for an exam and I got full marks :D

MY FRIEND ANNE

I looked, looked away and then looked again. I could not believe my eyes. There in front of me stood the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

She had shoulder length auburn hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her eyes were the color of a green fir tree in winter. She was wearing black sweatpants and a grey workout t-shirt. Her cheeks were red from the early morning chill and the best thing about her was her smile. It was a smile that could light up a room on a dark night.

She was leaning against a tree by the side of the path breathing in the cool morning air. I walked towards her trying to act casual but actually I was desperately hoping that she would notice me. After all, I wasn’t so bad looking with my dark hair, athletic body and brown eyes.

She turned towards me and was very surprised. “I didn’t think anyone jogged on this road anymore,” she said. I smiled and answered, “You surprised me too. I have been jogging here only for a few days now but I am sure I would’ve remembered a beautiful face like yours.” She laughed out aloud and it sounded like the delicate notes of a Chopin concerto. “I am Jesse Roberts. I live just a few blocks from here,” I introduced myself. “Well, I’m Anne Metcalfe and I’m glad to have met you. I’ve got to go now,” she said and jogged away before I could say goodbye.

I finished the round of the deserted cliff road and went back home. Try as I might I couldn’t get her out of my mind. The next morning I arrived at the path 15 minutes early and made my way to the tree where we had met yesterday. Sure enough, there she was looking as beautiful as ever.

I ran up to her and wished her a good morning. She smiled at me and I blurted out, “Would you like to jog with me?” I was hoping she wouldn’t just refuse and run away from me. I was sure she thought I was a stalker and waited for the pepper spray in my eyes. “Well sure, I would love the company,” she answered. I smiled in relief and we started jogging together.

“How come Ni haven’t seen you here before,” I asked. “I just moved here 2 days back and heard of this beautiful path where no one jogged, so here I am,” she replied. “Maybe one of these days I can show the sights around the city,” I ventured. “I don’t think so,” she said. My heart stopped. Had I moved too fast? “I am a very busy person. The only time I get is in the mornings.” She continued. I heaved a sigh of relief. “No problem! We’ll meet here every morning then,” I said. “Ok! It’s the end of the road now, see you tomorrow,” she waved and ran away.

From that day on we met every morning and jogged together. I told her about my life as a lawyer, my childhood, my family and my secret desire to be a writer. She told me of her studies, her childhood in Texas, the death of her father and how she lived with her mother. It was a very casual friendship and I loved that hour we spent together everyday. I walked around with a smile on my face and a bounce in my step. My best friend Joey was surprised at this sudden change in my behavior and I told him about Anne and how we jogged together. Joey asked me how she looked and I described her every little nuance. Her perfect smile, her long tapered artist’s fingers, her laughter everything. Joey listened to all this but as I went on, his smile disappeared. He asked me, “Hey Jesse, is this girl’s name Anne Metcalfe by any chance?” I was surprised because I hadn’t mentioned her surname. “Yes, how did you know? Do you know her,” I asked. Joey went pale as if he had seen a ghost and took me to his bundle of old newspapers.

“What’s up, Joe,” I asked. “Just wait,” he answered. He rummaged through his newspapers and gave me one of them. He pointed to an article and asked me to read it. As I read it my heart literally stopped and the paper fell from my hand. In it was a news item dated to 2 days before I met Anne,

“STUDENT DIES IN HIT AND RUN”

Anne Metcalfe, a university student, died instantly when she was involved in a hit and run accident late last night. The driver was believed to be driving under the influence. The police are investigating the matter. . . . . . . . . . . . .”

A speech i gave

I do quite a bit of debating and public speaking. This is a speech for a national debate that I took part in. The topic is "Sports auction is no sporting option." I spoke for the topic.

“Ultimately it’s the money”…this phrase seems to precede all sporting events these days.

Sports has lost its sanctity in the past few years and who do we blame for this?

Sports is as old as civilization itself and even in the prehistoric times we can see pictures of people indulging in some sort of sport or the other.

If we were to trace the history of the Olympics Games it dates back to nearly a century back.

Well are we talking about-games or sports? Sports is no GAME these days as what makes it work is money and money and money. Like they say “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer”.

Where is that so called “sportsmanship” spirit that we grew up with? Does a sportsman belong anywhere these days? Does he play because he loves the sport? Does he play because he wants to make the nation proud?

The answer is maybe not. He plays because he gets paid to play.

WHAT makes a man so desperate to own a sports team that he would be willing to pay a billion dollars for it? And not just one man, but a whole lot of men, each bidding against the others for the right to buy the team.

The trend started with football teams being bought and sold and the practice has now found its way into many more sports like Basketball, Base ball and now Cricket.

What sense does it make to postpone improvements in the field, but spend lavishly on players before selling the team?

Well, it makes sense, for one, if you think that owners buy teams for vanity, rather than as an investment. No one's ego is massaged by owning a team of losers.

Answering why people buy teams turns out to be important to more than just sports fans. There is big money at stake.

After owners indulge their childhood fantasy of buying a team, they tend to switch to an adult perspective and start viewing the team as a business.

And they typically conclude that it's a bad business. And then what happens to the players then? They keep changing hands and earn money one way or the other…no sense of belonging..no sense of a loyalty to any one except the highest bidder. How long can money motivate a person? The glitz and glamour eventually dies out and what is left is just only emptiness and no respect.

We can probably understand the scenario better if we talked about cricket because our great country is the pioneer in making this sport also a part of the rat race and game of auctioning.

Owning sports teams gives budding billionaires budding stardom and a big return. No wonder they are all lining up to get into this business.And with ever richer people bidding against each other the inflation only gets worse.

Business tycoons and bollywood stars bid for 78 players from across the globe in the recently concluded IPL series.

The entire game of cricket is now seen in different light. What happened to a thought like that was portrayed in the film Lagaan where the entire village got together in arms to fight for a cause..that’s what sports is all about. Wonder what would have happened if Bhuvan the protagonist in that movie had been bought by someone and played for the money and not for the spirit!!

I would like to leave you with a picture in your mind. I man on stage with an auctioneer shouting out his vital statistics...age, height, weight... like a slave or a cattle market. Is that what sports has become? Think about it...

random thoughts

These are some random thoughts..

Sometimes
I close my eyes
And wonder
What life would be
If things were different
If I lived
In a different time
A different place...
Would I still be
the same
Or would I be
Different too?
Would life be happier
Filled with more joy?
Or would it be
complex,
With darker mysteries
Hidden in its depths?

alone

This one I wrote for the heck of it. I think it came out very well.

She looked at them
They were laughing
Gossiping
Giggling
Unaware of her presence.
She watched them
Enjoy without her
Her heart grew sadder
The space in it grew.
She turned
And started
Walking away.
She walked slowly
Hoping someone would notice
Waiting for the voice
Calling for her to stop
Waiting for the friendly hand
On her shoulder.
But no one came
No one even cared.
Her eyes filled with
Lonely tears
And her heart shattered
Into small pieces.
She was left alone
With no one to love her
And she walked away,
A small speck
Receding into the
distance..