Pen-sive Disorder

Hi Readers,

Throughtout my lived life, I have been requested for a pen, many a times! At places, like railway reservation counter, banks, college classrooms, examination halls, offices; by acquaintances and strangers alike. In these situations the status and importance of the Pen was just as that of a sword in the battlefield. Oh yes, "Pen is mightier than a sword". Yes, it is!

The urge to suddenly note down something important as a phone number, an address or a name if not quenched, disturbs the body and unsatisfies the soul. And then if it is magnified by the non-availability of a puny pen at your service then there is nothing greater evil than that.

What amuses more is that the mightier than the Sword, Pen, loses all its importance and usefulness in the requester's hands when all the matters to be noted are noted down and all the application forms have been duly filled. The Pen as an object obliterates from the requester's mind in such a way that the thought of respectfully returning the Pen to the Original Owner completely slips off the mind.

Such is the world and its affairs, alas Pen, you will always have the importance in the hands of a true soul, just as Thor had for its Hammer.

Take care, My Pen, with whomsoeever you are with now. May your ink never dries out!

Me, Myself and My BiCycle

Hi Reader,

When I was 8 years old, I got my first bike. It was maroon in colour and had an U-shaped steel handle bar and a Mixte variation of the Step-through frame. It was a kid's bike whose frame was slightly different from the traditional diamond frame and of course it was an upright bicycle which is also called safety bicycle because due to the virtue of its design, the rider can land her feet directly on the ground while stopping the bike to a still. The bell went tring-tring!

I liked that bike a lot. It took me all around the colony with my friends, on their bikes, and beyond. After-school hours were spent washing and polishing the cycle body and the tyres and the mudguards. I was thrilled by the fact that my cycle also had an unique frame number. The frame number will usually be stamped on the underneath of the bottom bracket, which is where the pedals are attached, or on the rear fork ends where the back wheel slots in. It was akin to the chassis number of an automobile or a Motorized Bike. The day I got my bike, I had made a note of it by placing a paper on it and running a pencil over it. This is how grown-ups do with their bikes!

"With power comes responsibility", Spider-man had said, but he missed Knee bruises, Elbow scratches, Palm skin-peels and many a milligrams of blood. I still have those scars on my knees, only that they have moved an inch or two above the knee with the increase in body height.

Time made us grow in terms of size and needs. By the time I was promoted to 8th standard, I got a MTB(Mountain Terrain Bicycle). It was a fancy and a tough single-speed bike with dual split metallic colour décor, sparkling silver and moist blue. It had its inherent knobby tires with rim breaks and straight handle bar. Though the suspensions were missing, it was more comfortable than the previous one. This bike gave me the ability to cruise through sandy play grounds, grassy meadows and rocky off-roads. I attained speeds of 50 to 60 Kmph. Our touring span increased to 30 Kms radius. This MTB made me complete 700 Kms within a month of riding. We set and broke records every single day.

I miss those adventurous days!