My Crisis Angel.

 When floods wrecked havoc in J&K in early September 2014, hundreds of people came forward to help. Among these selfless volunteers was the team from V.O.I.C.E (Volunteers Online for Impact in Crisis and Emergencies) working via their twitter handle @InCrisisRelief. A small group of individuals from across the world coordinated the largest citizen-led relief effort ever, with the help of several other Crisis Angels. This group is now doing the same for the flood-ravaged North-Eastern states.
I saw this post on the IndiChange page,and their name,the crisis angels,got me thinking.A lot of us face crisis in our daily lives,when we think its impossible to carry on!(Unavailability of my morning coffee or slow internet connectivity,for example,are crisis situation001 in my life!)Jokes apart,when all hope is lost,this one person comes along,this one person comes along,holds our hand and guides us towards the light!This one person,our beacon of salvation,our crisis angel,will always be there,no matter how high the odds are stacked up against you,no matter how far behind you are lagging,no matter how deep you seem to sink!
 There are loads of people who have helped me get through loads of "situations"(I wont call it crises because,1.I have had a comfortable,safe ,protected life,all thanks to momma and daddy dearest,who are my guardian angels,and who'll never let me get into a crisis in the first place. and,2.Looking at the various disasters that other people face,my disasters just dont seem "disastrous" enough!),so,coming back to the point,there are loads of people who have helped me overcome situations I couldn't have escaped otherwise,but,I wouldn't name any one of em as my crisis angel.This might sound strangely narcissistic,or vaguely depressing,but bear with me and read along:
My crisis angel,I feel,is an alter-ego.For even though the world is full of people who care for you,and who mean the world to you,it is impossible to keep all your secrets in one basket!All crises simply cannot be shared with or limited to,one single alpha-human with all the solutions in a quickfix flask!At that rate,I would be needing an army of crisis angels at best!When I say I myself am my own crisis angel,it really does feel stupid,putting it out in front of ya'll like this,and a bit crazy,but I kid you not,no one can have an awesome-er,more dependable crisis angel than oneself!
 I can solve all my problems,(or sleep through most of em,that works,every.damn.time!),If that doesnt work,I go straight to my best friends,wallowing about the unfairness of it all,and how uncool it is that I dont get to be my own crisis angel.I could go all aristotle on ya'll right now,proclaiming how the universe actually helps my alter-ego be my crisis angel,and how I am the best candidate for the job since,a.I know myself the best,right from the mood swings to the crazy adrenaline rushes and,b.The only person who'll actually be able to handle all the little things I worry about,without freaking out or coming at me with an axe and a frustrated head,is,ultimately,me.Or,I could do a houdini,and just well,dissappear,before comments about how bad this article was(and rotten tomatoes) projectile towards me at the speed of NoOneCares-kmph!So,as I ninja around my place(I am afraid of the dark.Doesn't make me less awesome.),I'm typing this out real fast,because I think InCrisisRelief are doing a wonderful job,and that Kindness is true magic,and that my mind speeds up at night and how weird is that?and I should stop thinking out loud(or in print)..!I am drifting here,sleep beckons,so good night,Night Owls,sweet sweet dreams.If you have any stories about your crisis angels,I would be glad to hear from ya'll.Thanks for reading.
P.S:Heard One Direction's new single,"Steal My Girl",and oh I love it already!*pre-orders FOUR*I had thought that the magic is fading away,when here they are,with this new album,and they are hear to stay,alright?:"D (Don't judge me.Boy bands are cute.Somewhere deep down everyone loves 'em!)
This post is a part of the initiative by indiblogger for http://incrisisrelief.org/ 

La douleur exquise

  Eyes...steel gray...molten steel??or were they some other exotic colour?Was it the eyes she was attracted to?Or was it him?The entire 6 foot male homo sapien that she was pulled towards..at break-neck speed?!
Friends they were...good friends,close friends,even best friends if she could admit to that,if he could believe that!Then what now,was the strange constriction in her throat?What changed when she saw him with 'her'?What was that lone tear..that awful feeling of loneliness which suddenly overcame her like a gloomy black cloud which looms large over merry little villages,spreading gloom in its wake!
They were just friends werent they?!And  she was also just a friend of his...and what if she wasn't just that?what if there was more?!Why did that bother her as much as it did?!Why did it hurt?!They couldnt spend as much time together as they earlier would.She would always be around!Always pulling him away..away..everpresent "away"!
Why did that make her feel threatened?She was a beautiful entity,whereas her best friends always called her a plain jane.He used to tell her she was beautiful,that she "needed no make-up to cover up,that being the way she was was enough!" in those playful times they spent together!But even those times were hard to come by these days,like mirages in a hot desert,& all that remained was electronic communication,a void!A void that would never be filled?
The memories assailed her,.oh the memories!Beautiful,fantastic,lovely oh-she-could-go-on-describing-how-wonderful-&-never-run-out-of-words memories!They attacked her,crept on her from behind like really creepy witches,caught her unawares,rocked her with the joy,the nostalgia,the passion,the fun,and then,always,without fail,left her heart broken!Broken and grieving and sad and reminiscent and...hopeful!Oh so hopeful that she was nothing more than a friend.Hopes that she would get back things..the late night crazy conversations,the talking-slow-coz-your-momma-doesnt-know..the cute fights over which actor was hotter and which had the sexiest pout..the movies..the emotional outbursts..the fast food,..the studies..him!
Would she?
Tried my hand at writing fiction.Hope it's good enough.
DISCLAIMER:  The above article is purely a work of fiction,and any resemblances to earthlings,living or dead,are coincidental! >_<
P.s:(Yes,there's always one,in case you were wondering about the p.s!)I must thank tumblr as well for the image courtesy.Comments and criticism are always welcome:)

Holi Heavens!!!

Holi Heavens!No,this is not a spelling error..trust me.I am a grammar nazi;I would know!No,this,my dear friends,is about the Indian festival of Holi-much like carnival,albeit with bonfires and colors and water instead of fireworks!

 We Indians are a very jolly people...we need reasons to celebrate,so there are at least a dozen festivals a month!(Exaggerating,but you get the picture!)So,the biggie for march is Holi,and for the ignorant,welll,I might just brief you up about it as well.

The Holi Bonfire.Lit.

Holi is the festival of colors.Bonfires are lit symbolizing the renouncement of all things evil.Peope go crazy splashing colors at each other.Pheww..fits in 140 characters..*pat on the back*. This is what it essentially is,as far as I know.Now coming back to the all-important,much-loved topic of discussion,i.e. Me!(Kidding..No don't hit me >_<) I am not a morning person,I care for my skin and hair,I dont actually like random people splashing me with water from questionable origins,and I dont like dirty colors caking my face!Needless to say,I am not a Holi person;at all!Or Wasn't one at least..until today!

 Just a day ago,I saw a beautiful photograph of blind kids playing Holi,in the morning daily.(Might've put it up here,but what if they sue me for using their images?).It touched a chord,all these beautiful kids who couldnt actually see the colors they were playing with!:"D (Smiley says it all.) That was irrelevant,but again,my blog;p !

 After a lot of emotional blackmail and pestering,threats of getting the house all colored,(YES my friends do that to me.A lot.)and even, "Get your lazy behind out here or we drag you out!"ultimatums,I had to go play Holi!Armed with nothing but a packet of gulaal(crimson colored powder),and my brother's water gun(on loan),I marched out with a grim look on my face (ohh my clean,clear,confident face!) to just get it over with!The timestamp would have read 10:00 IST.

  10:05 IST:

Not so clean now,are we?

The clean,clear,confident face is nowhere to be seen.A multicolored ogre-face has taken its place!As depressing as the situation sounds,I was actually having fun!Water balloons and colors everywhere,with speakers blaring popular hindi numbers,and the Indian delicacy called BHAANG!My sub-conscious was doing cartwheels with an "I-told-you-we-would-have-FUN"grin glued to her face!What completed the ecstasy was a water hose in the middle of the complex-square;which was actually a  horrendous wastage of water;but it made the day all the more AMAZING!Finally after hours of splashing,dancing,and other shenanigans,I returned home all dirty-faced and exhausted but with a resolve to go play Holi next year as well! 

The pictures are an added joy,because no one would risk bringing their phones or cameras in such pandemonium.Lord bless the worthy soul who clicked these,and his Experia Z!;(Wonderful utilization of technology I say.)for without him we would have been stranded without pictures-a blasphemy in the contemporary times!

Don't bother asking who is who!

 Even after all this is said and done,just imagine yourself dressing up impeccably for that presentation which is giving you the creeps,and its almost a week to Holi,and all of a sudden,SPLASHHH comes a water balloon landing squat on your freshly laundered formals,your hand automatically connects with your forehead with a resounding smack,and all you can say,exasperated,is HOLI HEAVENS!!(kinda like holy cow or holy...Oh you get the gist!)!Yes,this happened to me:(...can't help people's enthusiasm about the festival though,so no complaints(at the moment)!

Hope everyone enjoyed Holi...loads of love,stay blessed:D

 P.S:Watch the video for "Stay the night" by Zedd featuring Hayley Williams....mesmerizing!