'INNOCENT' TIMES

It is one of those incidents, which still give me the tickles and the chuckles. Now, as I peep into my little mind, I can vividly remember that incident.*****Rolling into flashback*****Year 1994I was in prep that time. The exams were on and we, the little kids were crumbling under its pressure. That time we had a subject called EVS (environmental studies) and the very next day was its exam. So, all night I was struggling with the names of birds, animals and flowers. What was particularly driving me crazy was the spelling of ‘deer’. No matter how much pains I took, it just wouldn’t stick into my head. I said it aloud 5 times D-E-E-R. I wrote it on paper 10times DEER, lest I confuse it with ‘dear’. Somehow, I managed to put it in my already cluttered mind that the animal’s name is deer and not ‘dear’. Hence, the rest of the night was spent with the chirping of birds, the sounds of animals and the colours of flowers.Alas! Came the fateful day- The day of the exam. Everyone being as nervous as the other is, and as the time drew nearer the palpitation only increased.**********Treeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnngggggggggggggggg******** the bell, now synonymous with the Satan’s voice rang. Now, began the haphazard last minute preparations. With pages flipping faster than lightening, with words pouring out like a hymn learnt verbatim, with last minute queries to last minute answers- all this in just a span of two minutes. As if in that very moment every word had to be saved from some vicious demon before he devoured them all. And not to forget, the hapless teacher trying to break the now established eternal bond between the students and the books.Finally, after bidding goodbye to our beloved books (which only become beloved during exams), we settled down roll number wise, anxiously waiting for the question paper. Methodically, the teacher started distributing them from one side. I was fidgeting until she came to my desk, eager to take a look at the paper. I gave the paper a cursory look and heaved a sigh of relief. It didn’t seem tough. I started writing the paper and found myself answering the questions as fast as I could, lest anything slip out of my mind. I was answering all questions comfortably, but then what do I see? This question says,” _______ (deer/dear) is the name of an animal.” “Ok”, I told myself. “I know the answer”, I muttered to myself. The answer is…is…is?????? DEAR! Yes, it is DEAR! No, it is DEER. No, it is DEAR. No it is……..! My mind was buzzing. How could I forget it? I practiced it all night. It is a sin greater than blasphemy! Suddenly, I saw the time and realized that I had wasted my precious ten minutes on this question. I left it blank for the time being, and hurriedly went on completing the rest of the paper. Just as I was wrapping up my answers, Neha (aka Daddo), the girl sitting beside me, poked me lightly. Quietly, in a hushed voice she asked the answer of a question about thorny plants. The question asked us to name two thorny plants. In those days, Neha wasn’t really my friend, infact she was an enemy. Though, she has grown up, mellowed down and become one of my best friends today, earlier she was a brat and the villain of my life. Thus, I was in no mood to tell her the answer. However, she kept coaxing me so I finally said, "CACTUS”. Oh! But she already knew this one. She insisted again to tell me another. I knew it was ROSE but just the thought of her getting more marks, pulled me back. I kept quiet. Then, she tried to bribe me by saying that I could also ask her something in return. It did sound tempting at that moment but I maintained a stoic silence. After all, I had been taught not to cheat. But she kept pulling at my shirt and I realized, she wouldn’t let me work till I answered. So, after thinking for a while, I came up with the answer, “CHAMELI!. Yes, Chameli is the other thorny plant". Happily, she wrote the answer and profusely thanked me. Secretly, I smiled to myself, applauding my teeny self for being so smart. Cmon! How could I let her get that one mark?Then, peacefully I finished my paper. However, as I began to revise, I stumbled on that deer/dear question. In my excitement of getting her answer wrong, I had completely forgotten this question. I began to strain my mind and the more I thought, the more confused I got. Only ten minutes were left and I had to make a choice between the two spellings. I was desperate. The bell could ring anytime. Then, the bell rang into my mind. I suddenly poked Neha and asked if she knew the answer. (oh! Everything is fair in love, war and exams! ;)) She smiled and said it was D-E-E-R. But, I wasn’t fully convinced. So, I insisted on her again. This time, with full conviction, she said it was DEER and not DEAR. Her father had told her the other day and she was sure. She tried hard to persuade me.I listened to her and thought for a while. My petty mind thought, if I didn’t tell her the right answer then, why would she? So, I happily wrote D-E-A-R and thanked her. Again, I applauded myself for being such a genius. :-P

Cancer and beyond

It was 21st January 2002 when she was confronted with a reality, she did not want to accept. For a moment, her life came to a halt. She thought it was the end. With her translucent eyes, she saw her two little children. This was the day when she was told she had BREAST CANCER. She had never been so scared in her life, for her life. She only wanted God to answer her one question, “Why only me!”

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Five years hence, bearing the pain of countless therapies, she knows she is not alone. There are many like her and the number is only increasing. But the government has done little to spread awareness. Since, the most common sign of breast cancer is a new lump, which is painless; many women tend to ignore it. And in a society like ours, where talking about breasts is as much a taboo as sex, who will lead the awareness crusade?It was then that she decided to take the plunge. So, she along with a friend(also a cancer patient) took upon themselves the onerous task of educating as many people as possible. They started out by informing people at kitty parties. It was tough to make the ladies ignore tambola and food, and make them listen to a lecture! However, they never gave up. For them, even if one woman gets motivated out of thirty, it’s a great achievement. As she says, “This is just the beginning.”(to be contd)