December 31, 2009 Pune, India - As the last rays of today's sun will cease the trailing events of this year, leaving behind a log of memories - bitter and sweet, here I take some time out to recollect them. To say tomorrow would be just as every other day but for many of us the closing moments of today's dusk will imply a completion of a milestone. I understand that this was not a very good year for most of us. Certainly, a year that started with a doom that resulted into job losses, pay cuts, pandemic crisis, terrorism, for many was not a pleasant experience. For the ones who were rather more fortunate to have their jobs retained ran into a great deal of mental stress right since the onset of this year. Recession has hit us all in one way or the other.

It's a beautiful Thursday afternoon here in Pune and I have just finished scrolling through all the pages of the newspaper. It seemed more colorful than yesterday. The dazzling fonts used in the names of the funky Disco Jockeys is tempting me to attend one of the numerous events organized in the city. I reckon, most of the people have already finished planning their schedules. The city cops are on an alert and have been patrolling for security measures. The city spirit is as high as ever - I remember its level during the 31st of the last year. No matter how hard our past was, we are much enthusiastic to open the black boxes of the forthcoming moments. A hope drives us all - a hope for a better tomorrow.

Have a Great Year Ahead!

December 22, 2009 Pune, India - Childhood days are the best days of one's lifetime and recollecting them will only make you feel more and more nostalgic. As a child I had a huge troop of friends whom I used to play with. They were my partners in crime - almost in all the little mischief I used to do - chasing the butterflies, scaring the little sparrows, collecting the dragonflies and honey-bees in a glass jar and then watching them fight, spotting and killing the lizards on the trees, building castles of mud and zillions of such activities. We have played numerous games, most of which do not have even names to be referred to. This post is an attempt to relive and recollect some of the most remarkable games that I have played in my teen years.

Bhavra - The classic 'Top' remains one among my all time favorites. I have nearly a zillion memories associated with this little hard toy. There were times when I used to reckon that I could conquer almost anyone in the world by means of a rope and my Bhavra (top). Here goes the game. You need a Bhavra and a rope. Last but not the least; you need at least one partner to play with. The game starts with drawing a small circle on the ground, preferably with a chalk. A stick is placed inside the circle. Each player attempts to bring the stick out of the circle - the fastest one to wind the rope to his Top wins the first chance to do so. The successful player remains out compelling other players to place their Tops inside the circle. Now it is the successful players wish to get the Tops of his wish out from the circle. One collision and here they come out. In this attempt, if any of the Top lies partially out of the circle, the Top owner can try his luck to catch his Top by pulling it up by means of his rope. The last one remaining in the circle has to bear the painful blows of other Tops. The remaining Tops keep on pushing it to a predefined limit marked by a chalk. In this course, if any of the other Tops fail to push the Top on the ground, the positions are replaced; thereby the Top on the ground gets rid of the pain. The ultimate aim is to get one of the Tops outside the marked limit. Just before the Top on the ground is pushed outside the limit by means of a last push, each player must have their ropes worn on their ears. Failing to do so, the player who’s Top is on the ground can touch any of the failing player and can ask him to place his Top in the circle for the next game. If none of the players fails, the same player's Top is placed in the circle or the next game. Once, the Top on the ground is out of the limit, the remaining players shout in chorus 'Kaan Ki Jaali Chuti'. That is fun, believe me. At the end of the day, some time is spent on counting the individual pores being made of each Top. A pore or a hole on your Top is not an accolade - the lesser the better.

Lagori - This game was the most popular games during my pre-teen days. I have seen some kids playing this game in my locality as lately as yesterday. It is one of the most exciting games esp. if you are outdoor game freak. In order to play this game, you need two teams, a minimum of seven on either side. You would further need a small rubber ball, strong but soft - softer the better, you would realize the need for the ball to be soft once you receive your first hit on your bumps. Lastly, you will need around seven stones shaped in the form of chips of different sizes. The broadest one goes at the bottom and the smallest one at the top. Each team stands equidistant from the heap of the stone-chips and aims at it with an attempt to disintegrate the neatly arranged heap of stone-chips. The team at the receiving end catches the ball. Each member of the respective team attempts his/her turn to break the heap open. The teams keep on trying this turn by turn, each time with a new team member. The team that is successful in breaking the heap should now arrange the heap back to its original position. But wait, this ain't that simple. The team at the receiving end tries its best to hit the ball to a member of the opposite team while they try to avoid the blow on their bodies. The breaking team members gain a point if they successfully re-arrange the heap and shout 'Lagorcha' implying that they are done with the rearrangement. On the other hand, if the receiving team is successful in hitting a member from their opponent team, they gain one. The game thus continues and the fun never ceases.

Gotya - A Desi or Marathi name for the age old marble game. Marbles have always fascinated me. And I hardly could remember all the marble games that we used to play when in school. Unfortunately, Gotya or marbles is now being regarded as a game of poor kids. In India these days, this game is well known mostly among the slums. I remember a couple of Goti costing around 5 paisa (a 0.05th part of a Rupee) but, as time passed by the cost has been increased steeply. Nevertheless, the precession loving kids have always been great fans of marbles. I used to have a huge collection of marbles at my home which I remember was donated to smaller kids once I reached standard ten. Being a grown up kid, I now wish to refrain young kids from playing marble games given that it nurtures gambling.

Vitti Dandu - The more well known name in Hindi is 'Gilli Danda' which is a game placed using two pieces of dried wooden sticks - one small (Vitti or Gilli) and the larger stick (Dandu or Danda) nearly three times the smaller stick. The smaller stick is bluntly sharpened at both the ends, almost resembling a pencil pointed at both the ends. The Dandu is sharpened at one end which is used to hit the smaller one at its edge such that, the smaller stick or Vitti flips above the ground giving room for the larger stick to place a strong blow at it. The game is usually played using two players but not restricted to it since multiple players would definitely add to the fun. That's all about the technicalities. Here goes the game - A small pit is dug in the ground at the periphery of which the Vitti is horizontally placed. A first player holds the edge of the Dandu perpendicular to the horizontally placed Vitti, ideally at its center so that when pushed, it is thrown at the farthest possible distance. The Dandu is now placed on the pit and the first player waits for the second player to aim the Vitti to strike the Dandu. If the throw of the second player fails to strike the Dandu, the first player gains three free shots to blow the Vitti far away. On the other hand, if the second player succeeds in striking the Dandu, the player positions are swapped. The game is almost endless and only fatigue can compel the players to end it.

Lapa Chapi - The traditional hide-n-seek needs no newer explanation. Lukka Chuppi is what it is precisely referred as in Hindi is one of the most popular games. I am sure that children of today wholeheartedly enjoy this game till date. This game needs nothing special to be used. All that is required is a bunch of playmates to play with - the more the better. The game typically starts with a process called as Sutane (Marathi) or Chutana (Hindi) which is basically performed to elect one player who is going to search the other players. Once the player is elected, his job is to go at an isolated place and count a predefined series of numbers (usually 1 to 100) while the remaining players get busy in hiding themselves. After the player finishes counting the numbers he starts the search. As soon as he identifies a player, he must shout the identified player's name followed by the word 'Stop'. The most important part of the game is that before the searching player calls out a name of the identified player, he must be very confident about his name. If he mistakes, that means he is landing himself in a huge trouble, usually by attracting seven turns to find all the players. That is something really painful and evening times really add to the misery of the searching player. The remaining players who are hiding themselves keep on doing so while they secretly and swiftly attempt to pat the searching player in his back. That is called a 'Dhappa' meaning that the searching player has to start it over again. In the course, all the players who were stopped earlier can now hide themselves again for a fresh game. The game might turn frustrating for the searching player if he is really naive. The hiding players try their best to fool him, sometimes by even exchanging their shirts - that is what we used to do. This was one of the most enjoyable games of my childhood.

Abaa Dubi - The name of the game might resemble a name of some Arabian country but believe me that it has no linkage to it by any means. This is one of the weirdest games we have ever played. At times, it could sound similar to the game Lagori but the only difference is that you really do not need the stone-chips here. A soft ball is all that you need to play this game. Now comes the part that you must be waiting for - the rules. Well, to your dismay let me tell you that this game has no specialized rules. Just grab the ball hit it hard to the one you like. The only constraint is that you must stand at the place where you picked up the ball from. That may really sound awkward for the first timers but believe me as the game progresses; you keep on making friends and foes. Of course the one who hits you the most is your foe. But that again does not imply that friends cannot hit you. You will enjoy the way friends turn out to be foes and the way your enemies turn out to be buddies. Nothing lasts for more than a minute and that is the beauty of this game. But just make sure that you don't hit someone's eyes or gonads lest the game won't remain a game.

Pakada Pakadi - The easiest of all the games. All you need is a bunch of players all scattered around the playground. The player who is going to touch the one random player among the other players is elected. The game commences and the passing starts. The player who is touched must chase and pass the touch to some other player, possibly the nearest player. Failing to pass the touch immediately makes the player to come out of the game. The ultimate player is termed as the winner.

No list of such nostalgic games played by the kids on the Indian soil would ever be exhaustive. Although these games are widely played and enjoyed by the kids, they are not really recognized much. But the gist is that they are an integral part of my childhood. I really wonder how many of the kids dwelling in cities are aware of such games today. Given that most of the kids today are caught behind the joysticks, televisions and PC games, I am sure that the count is not plenty enough.

December 05, 2009 Pune, India - Being a city cop was never exhilarating for Head Constable Shinde, who had been serving the Mumbai Police department for eleven long years. Just as every other policeman, he led a mundane life that toggled between the hour hand of his old wrist watch.

But, today was a bit different day.

It was 8:00 PM when he arrived at home. His three year old was fast asleep. It seems like the right time to present his wife the gift he had brought for her, he thought. He was sure that this was going to cease all her complains she had against her husband.

"So Vidya, What do you think about this one?", he asked as he presented the gift and naughtily grabbed her towards him.

"Waa! A new Mangalsutra!", his wife exclaimed as she seemed so reluctant to believe what she saw. For a moment, she looked at her husband's face with gratitude. Although she was unable to contain her feelings, the very next moment, she looked down. A thought ran across her mind.

"You didn't like it?", Shinde asked after he read her expressions.

She shrugged.

"No it's not that, I liked it very much", she replied calmly "But, a ten grams of gold ornament received from a policeman is what made me feel sad"

"Oh! Vidya, you are impossible", the cop was really annoyed after he saw his wife not patronizing his expectations. He just recollected their quarrel that took place last month over her craving for a new ornament.

"I am sick of your dual-ended words. What is a poor policeman supposed to do?", he spoke with outrage.

Realizing that her gift had valuable emotions of her loving husband attached to it, Vidya was in a no mood to engage her in a dispute. She didn't utter a word and kept the unwrapped gift box aside on the table.

Ring Ring - The telephone bell rang.

"Shinde, there is an emergency. Please report on duty as soon as possible. There is another attack on the city. Make sure you report back to the police station as soon as possible", the voice over the phone said.

"I need to go!" Shinde said, trying to regain his senses back from his graveling family issues.

"Dinner's ready, please have it before you leave... ", she said in vain. Just before she could finish her say, he was out on his motorbike heading towards his duties.

He reached the police station in a few minutes. The city was under chaos. There were multiple incidents of violence and bloodshed in various parts of Mumbai. There were unproven rumors of the city being under an attack. The head constable was constantly in touch with the updates from the control room. There is an ongoing shootout in the vicinity of the Railway station, the instrument updated Shinde and his colleagues.

The chaos among the citizens were worsening with every second that passed by. By this time, the control room had reported several casualties and the toll was still on.

"ACP Jadhav, there has been a blast near Kama Hospital and three gunmen are suspected to be around the hospital. Cover up the hospital along with Constable Shinde and four junior constables immediately", a voice from the police control room directed the team.

Equipped with their service guns, a couple of vans filled with a dozen policemen headed at the venue. It didn't take much time for each one of them to realize that their service guns were proving futile against the planned attack of the intruders which was backed with the forte of modern ammunition. Despite being aware of their sapless plight, the six policemen tried hard to gain the control of the situation.

Shinde was shot thrice on his shoulders and twice on his left thigh. The last thing he remembered were the faces of his wounded colleagues and the blood-soaked uniform of ACP Jadhav. His subconscious mind instructed him to play a dead man, as he kept recording the moves of the events around him. But he was helpless when his consciousness gradually faded away completely.

Gradually, the fierce combat had mellowed down into a steep ocean of tears and blood.

"Beep beep...", a hoarse sound brought Shinde back to life.

He opened his eyelids gently, as he tried hard to recollect his memories. A severe ache in his back brought all his memories back to life as he tried to move his body on the hospital bed.

Shinde noticed that he was surrounded by a team of journalists, doctors and a few other policemen. Vidya was sitting just beside him. Her wet eyes looked red, just like the blood-stained cotton bandage that was glued to her brave husband's right shoulder. She held his hand and gave him a serene smile.

"Didn't you like the new Mangalsutra, Vidya?", he asked naughtily.

She looked back at him, puzzled. She wished she could cry, but she knew that it would be an insult to his courage to do so. She was a wife of a man who brings her the ecstasy and agony, both at the same time, all in a day's work.

"I wish, I could ever understand you... ", she replied, as she passionately hugged her wounded husband.