P.S. Really sorry about screwing up this classic poems. It is one of my favourites (along with The Tyger by William Blake) and one which I can recite completely. But I was just overwhelmed by the number of people quoting it left and right.

Mumbai Bombay

]]> http://www.insearchofnirvana.in/2010/04/mumbai-vs-bombay/feed/ 2 http://www.insearchofnirvana.in/2010/04/mumbai-traffic-police-new-ad-campaign/ http://www.insearchofnirvana.in/2010/04/mumbai-traffic-police-new-ad-campaign/#comments Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:10:13 +0000 Nirvana http://www.insearchofnirvana.in/?p=659 Click the image for a better view

]]> http://www.insearchofnirvana.in/2010/04/mumbai-traffic-police-new-ad-campaign/feed/ 0 http://www.insearchofnirvana.in/2010/04/parody-of-mastercard-priceless-ad/ http://www.insearchofnirvana.in/2010/04/parody-of-mastercard-priceless-ad/#comments Wed, 14 Apr 2010 12:13:05 +0000 Nirvana http://www.insearchofnirvana.in/?p=632

Comment if you like it.

Life definitely needs a change…

Deadline for these pictures? By the end of this year. Wish me luck.

Last night he had gone out to watch a movie and had not paid much attention to the message. But now Rajit dialled the number from which the SMS had come. Strangely, there was no such number. Now curious, Rajit switched on his computer. He entered the number into a search engine online and tried to find out if any one else had received such a message. Zero results.

I got to check this out, Rajit thought. The Jalputra river was just on the outskirts of the town he lived in. There was a single bridge over the river. An old dilapidated bridge, it was built many years ago and was now unused. The reason why the message seemed all the more mysterious to him was the fact that someone knew that Rajit lived near the river and had specifically targeted him. All this caused a keen sense of intrigue in his mind. He was a great fan of mystery novels. And he loved to write about mysteries too. And here was a mystery waiting for him in his own town. What’s the harm in checking it out anyway? he thought. If it is a prank played by someone, well and good. If there was some actual mystery waiting for him, it would make for a great post on his blog, he figured.

He called out to his mother, saying that he was going out for some work and would be back by 8pm. Rajit planned to visit the bridge and see what the SMS was all about. Then he’d probably spend some time with his friends before heading back home for dinner. He put on the hands-free connection and pumped up the volume on his mobile. Rajit started his bike and made his way towards the highway. The Jalputra river was to the south of town and it would probably take him about 20-30 minutes depending on the traffic.

The traffic was unusually light for this time of the day. He had now reached the highway. Another five minutes and he would be near the bridge. Far ahead he could already see the river. The Jalputra river was the major source of water for his town and other neighbouring villages and this time of the year it was overflowing with water. The sun was setting at one end of the horizon and it looked as if the river had flowed out of the sun.

As he parked his bike near the bridge, he stopped. Did he just hear what he think he heard? Did someone just whisper “Welcome” in his ears? Or was it just the song? Carefully Rajit removed his helmet, and took off the headphones. It was just the song, he figured. He placed the helmet on his bike and locked the bike. Rajit made his way towards the bridge. It was deserted. Not many people come here anyway. This bridge was built some 20-30 years ago by the municipality and had been damaged during a flood. Now with broken railings and arches, it was barely walkable. He stepped his way across the gaps in the bridge and made his way to the center.

Rajit was half-expecting that his friends would probably be hiding somewhere behind the bushes. They would scream and jump out and have a merry laugh at Rajit’s expense. Then they would all go back to the local mithaiwalla and have some hot samosas. At least Rajit had taken up the dare bravely, he thought.

But there was no such scream. There was just the whistling of the wind between the branches of the trees bordering the river bank. The water flowed furiously below the bridge and the rickety bridge vibrated lightly with the water’s force. Rajit had reached the centre of the bridge and had found nothing strange. Except for the sounds of nature around him, there was nothing. Slowly his ears become impervious to even those sounds. The birds which were chirping had stopped. There was now a pin drop silence. He just stood there looking blankly out at the river. Rajit wanted to turn around and walk back to his bike quickly. He wanted to meet his friends and go back home. But something stopped him from doing so.

The sun had now gone below the horizon and there was a reddish hue in the sky. Rajit moved near the broken railing of the bridge. Then he saw it. On the railing, between the layers of peeled-off paint, someone had scratched with a sharp object. Rajit slowly read what was written on the railing, and he stared at the words,”look below rajit.”

He stepped back instinctively and almost tripped. His leg was trapped among one of the gaps in the bridge. He carefully lifted his leg out from the hole and steadied himself. He walked back to the railing. He leaned over and stared at the water flowing beneath the bridge. The water was clear and he could see the bottom. There were rocks, and stones and other debris on the riverbed. All kinds of shapes seemed to be trembling in the water. He strained his eyes to get a steady look. And then he saw it. His eyes just froze. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t take his hands off the railing. He darted his eyes away from the water back to the words on the railing. First he thought he had just imagined what he saw in the water. But he was too afraid to look back to check. He would not check. With great effort, he put his hand in his pocket and took out his mobile. He slowly composed a message on the screen, “If you’re brave enough, go visit the bridge over the Jalganga river between 6-7pm tomorrow” and sent it out to his friend. He put the mobile back into his pocket. As soon as he heard the familiar double beep of the delivered SMS, he climbed on to the railing. And then he took a step forward into the dark water and in the trees, the birds started chirping.