Freedom

What does freedom mean to you ?

I'd say, freedom isn't always about splendid sunshine, vast clear expanses of blue sky and a never-ending horizon...
...sometimes, freedom also means turning away from the sun, and choosing the drab, dark, dank 'everyday stuff' - the freedom to do what you want - irrespective of the way the worlds defines freedom... allowing yourself (and others) to have views that don't fit the standard society norms - and not be apologetic about it :)

Just a Monday morning self-realization that hits when a pigeon repeatedly refuses to venture back to its home in the balcony, and you wonder why it chooses to stay, when it could so easily fly away. #everydayLifeLessons :)

...and makes for the 100th post too! Yayyy B-)

Of Dust that refuses to settle - and Floods

I walked to office today, and there was this huge huge dust storm all around.
I really don't know where so much dust came from...as if someone had put me straight into a scene from Interstellar - the one before the discovery of the new planet - dust everywhere and people trying to flee it - trying to escape the dust storm.

Yes, this was just like it.
Yes, I will call it a dust storm.
Dust - EVERYWHERE.
Dust - that refuses to settle. Dust - that clouds your vision. Dust - on your face even if you wrap your thickest scarf as tight as you can. Dust - that you can taste as you run a tongue across dry lips. Dust - you can breathe and smell. Dust - in your hair. Dust - under your feet. Dust that refuses to settle - all around you.
And I thought however wrong/right the Interstellar folks may have been in their imagination of colonizing a new planet - surely their idea of the "End of the Earth" was spot on.
Dust - that signifies a dying Earth. Dust that refuses to settle down. No matter how hard you try to keep it off, always finding a way to cloud over people and stuff.
Dust - that covers even the last slivers of hope. Dust - that threatens Life. Dust - its teeny weeny particles showing their might - uncontrollable - haunting every thought; washing over everything like waves.
Dust - that never settles.
As I made my way through the dust clouds, I thought that if there ever is an "End of the Earth", this definitely will be one of the characteristics...dust - that refuses to settle.
~~
As soon as I unlock the door and step in, a loud gushing noise screams for my attention. I hurriedly go into the kitchen - only to land in ankle deep water - the kitchen tap is running wildly and (open since God knows when - buckets of good clean water - literally gone down the drain) I sigh...
It takes me quite a while to mop and drain away the excess water.
...And as I scrub and slosh at the water over and over again - the irony hits me - I feel as if I am washing away the dust - as if this was a way to literally "dust off" the dust - the dust that refuses to settle - perhaps it is powerless in front of gushing splashes of water.
~~
I do hope if there ever is a "dying Earth" and dust storms, may there also be slashing rains and splashes of cool blue water to counter it -  washing the dust away.
And may the water win, over the dust that refuses to settle.
Amen.

The Keymaker(s) of Magarpatta City

A Tuesday morning. Laptop? Check. Charger? check. Wallet? Check. Office ID? Check. Close the door shut. Bam! Keys inside.
Knock on P's door for the extra key. She can't find it :-|
Realize that you will have to tackle the issue immediately because the decoration stuff you promised you'll get for the office fest is trapped inside as well :-|
Realize with a heavy heart that you need to call him.
Yet Again.
Dial 'KeyMaker' (called KM, henceforth) for rescue :P

There are some people whose services you just can't do without. "Essential services". When I moved in to Magarpatta, HC gave me the KM's number, along with the usual list of Maid, Cook, Laundry and Car washers numbers and I thought, "OK this is cool, but I won't be really needing it. But let me save it, emergency ke liye..."
But yeah, HC knew me better :P

And this KM has really been a 'saviour' at times :P
Especially for people like moi who have duplicate, triplicate, quadruplicate and even pentuplicate keys (I wonder if those are even legit words :P) (and yes, this is over exaggerating things ;) ) and still manage to lock themselves out, or lose (mostly its a 'forotten them somewhere, and think you've lost them' syndrome) the 'Keymaker of Magarpatta City' (as I like to call him) is indeed a saviour.

He is a character, and a completely technosavvy one at that. Just a phone call away from all 'stranded/locked-out' people. :P
His phone rings and you hear "इतनी शक्ति हमें देना दाता...मन का विश्वास कमजोर हो ना..." Seriously. #I am not kidding.
And you smile, despite yourself, and think, "What irony! This guy opens people's doors for a living and his caller tune says 'भूल कर भी कोई भूल हो ना...'"
You already trust him, even before he picks up your very first call :P This should be a decent banda you think, 'coz his cellphone sings 'हम चले नेक रस्ते पे...' :D

"Kaunsa door lock hua hai? Main door ya room ka?" he asks. "Room ka." "Naya key banvana hai ya sirf door unlock karna hai? Naya key banvane ka charge is 200/- Sirf door unlock karna hai to visiting charges 200/-" he says. "Key andar fasa hua hai, sirf unlock karna hai. Office jana hai, aap abhi aa sakte hai kya bhaiyaa?" you plead. OK, he says and promises to be there in 20 mins. He arrives, with all the paraphernalia, a big brown bag packed with keys, tools and whatnots. And you can see he's quite the busy man...for the ten odd minutes he takes to unlock the door, he gets atleast five calls :P

The first time he had come, he got a thick plastic sheet, just slid it in the gap between the door and the wall frame and with a well trained jerk pried opened the door! And I was like, "What! That's it?! Is this so easy?! And 200 bucks for this?!" :-O He smiled his saint like smile.

This time around, he was upto more 'technical' stuff. He loosened the disc in front of the lock, and used some kind of a screw driver that had a bent pointed end and used that to 'open' some lever inside the lock. Hmmm. 200 bucks.

Anyways, like I said, until there are swift gusts of winds to shut doors and forgetful people like me around, he's going to have a good business going! All I can do is thank him and pray he stays as honest as he is... :-))
Amen.


PS: This was written in a fit of #'I have nothing to do, while being stranded outside my room' and waiting for the Keymaker to turn up. Totallyy in a mood to rant and crib.

PPS: Although I have seen, and dealt with the same keymaker always, am sure they have a gang...err 'team', of their own. Hence the title, 'Keymaker(s)' ;-)

PPS: and while I was whiling away the time, it did occur to me that it's high time I learnt to open locks on my own. And I remembered one such time @H11, when me, C and K had (unsuccessfully) youtubed and tried to open K's room after she had forgotten her keys@home :P
Nevertheless, am definitely going to try some youtubing the next time around :P And who knows, if I get really good at it, may be I can even think of an alternative profession, and also get to call myself a 'non virtual ethical hacker' ;-) :-P