Future Perfect

In the last period, I had to teach a new chapter to a class of 9 yr olds. And the story was about a nice but lazy man who sleeeps in the forest and awakes  after 20 long yrs.

A method had to be devised to make the students interested in the class. So I asked them what if they went to sleep and and woke up after 20 yrs. What is the one change they would like to see in the world or how different things would be?

To warm up the discussion, I started with saying that I would like to see all of them well settled in the professions they wanted to be in, like dress designer, pilot, scientist, writer, etc. 

Now everyone wanted to say something and the response made me convert the 'literature' period into a 'creative writing' one. Most of the responses were about hi-tech gadgets, cars and airplanes.

Some others were the following.

- I would like to see my city neat and clean.

- Unpolluted rivers specially the Ganga which runs through our city.

- A corruption free India.

- I want to see my niece and nephew (which made everybody laugh, knowing that the would be father is in class three right now).

The one who won my heart was a boy who said:

 I want to see my mother. How would she look, ma'am.After TWENTY years?

Cycle Trip Songs

A typical day can be different for each of us but the night brings peace to all. We are closer to ourselves. Most of us are in our comfort zone. Some in front of the TV sets after finishing the chores, others sipping whiskey and working on their computers or curled up in their beds with a book.
The night surrounds us with a calm, telling us, 'Take your own time.There is no hurry." It allows us to enjoy a few more pages, an extra peg, some more channel surfing, talk a bit more on the phone or chat. Which is not the case during the day. It allows me one more round of cycling and a few more songs.

My rendezvous with myself begins after supper. I brush my teeth, put on something comfortable and start my forty-minute-long cycle ride. My campus gives me the liberty to glide on the well tarred roads at any hour of the night. After every few metres there is a guard who respects my privacy and assures my safety.

My earphones in place and radio on, my trip  begins. Radio/FM gives you the thrill of either discovering a song or going back to a forgotten one. The one which might bring back a memory, smile or lump in your throat but pleasure is guaranteed.

This is the time when there is nothing between me and the singer.This concert is just for me. I meet Sahir, Gulzar, Shalendra,Yogesh, Shakeel Badayuni and Neeraj to name a few. I wonder how 70 yr old Anand Bakshi could write for 21-year-old Rahul and million others of the same age group, who could relate to the songs of DTPH and DDLJ. And his  other songs which enthrall all age groups.

In the times of earphones  I still love any piece of music lingering in the air even better if I hear it passing by, which was so frequent during my school days. During mid-'80s, we lived in Pauri, Garhwal. The place we lived at was away from the city. We had to climb down quite a distance to reach the school and then climb up the same distance to get back home by foot. Coming back took a lot of time. So slowly climbing up I used to read a book, usually comics like Madhu Muskan. On the way there was some construction work going on. Bihaari migrant workers were employed there.Their  transistor used to be on whenever I passed by.Wondered how much they spent on the batteries. One day  I heard Hemlata's melodious voice and the song was from the film Ankhio ke jharokhon se I loved the song though I could hear only a few lines.
After around 20 years when Youtube happened, this was the first song I searched for. Somehow I never watched it in Chitrhaar.

Back to my cycling, I reached back to the gate of my house but there was still a song left in the programme Aap ki fermaaish. I thought of calling it a day but do you know who asked me to accompany....Hemant Kumar with the song Bekaraar karke humme yu na jaaiye...