Fun

Monday 9 September 2013

Leaving on the jet plane!

My IPod played this beautiful song of John Denver..

All my bags are packed I'm ready to go
I'm standin' here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin' it's early morn.....

And so on! 

But the difference was I was thrilled, excited and super happy. I was going for a BIG CAUSE. 

Last moment panic or super excitement. I don't know. But my heartbeat was loud enough to be heard by the neighbors...hahaha I know its exaggeration. Anyhow. Last minute check.

  1. YatraHolidays' tickets booked             Done (Yatra.com where else)
  2. Sms Ticket Received                                Done (Going Green, you see!)
  3. Bags Packed                                                  Done (I travel light, just a rucksack.)
  4. Chocolate bars                                             Done (For my sweet tooth)
  5. Laptop                                                              Done (My Macbook Pro)
  6. News paper cuttings                                   Done (Important events)
  7. DVDs of current affairs & Tamas          Done (Tamas on History Channel)


Yeah! I reached YatraHolidays' station. 
Ready. Seated on the machine. Belted.
Zoooooooom!

I really don't  know how much time it took, but when I opened my eyes slowly I was there, indeed! YatraHolidays' time machine did work. Yeah!

I looked at me, last touch up, you see! Ooops! I was in my jeans and shirt, to THIS meeting. How could I forget to wear my formals! God bless me! Ah, let me concentrate on the topic. I was literally shivering. What else I could do. It was THE meeting room. People whom I have heard off in history class and seen in pictures are seated here. It was no history class or no play. It was real!

On one side, there were members of Congress - Gandhi Ji, Nehru Ji, Rajendra Prasad Ji including few other members of Congress. On the other side, seated were Muhammad Ali Jinnah Ji, along with few other members of India Muslim League. In front of me, seated were Mr. Louis Mountbatten and few other Britishers. (Few other indicates, that I didn't read my lesson properly! Damn!)

None of them noticed me. They were busy discussing the boundaries of India and Pakistan. Map was lying on the table. Yet UNDIVIDED, yet one. Yes, YatraHolidays, you did send me to the right moment. 


Right then, Mr. Mountbatten took the pen and the map and was about to draw the lines. I yelled, "Stop! Stop all this! Do you really know the consequences' of all this division?  Please... "

"Who are you? How did you come here? Who gave you permission to enter this room. Guards?" Chacha Nehru interrupted me to enquire, bit strictly though. I stopped and looked at them. Everyone was staring me with zillions of questions popping out of their eyes. 

Guards arrived by then, ready to throw me out. I insisted, "Listen to me! I have come from a very long way, from 2013."

Jinnah Ji said, "What rubbish? Do you really know what are you talking?"

I said, "Yes sir, very much. Please give me some time to prove myself and reason why I am in this meeting all the way from 2013."

Gandhi Ji came to my support, luckily, and requested others to let me put my point.(My puppy face did work, again!!) Guards went back. Without another word, I took out the newspapers cuttings. Distributed among all the members(brought many). All, about the Hindu-Muslim fights, wars, Kashmir issues and other communal violence or whatever you may call. I kept quiet till they finished reading all those cuttings. Once they finished, I took out my laptop and started setting it for videos and images and oh, Tamas! Everyone started staring at my MacBook. Of course, there was no laptop at that time. I explained, "this is a laptop. Like computer but portable. I want to show you something."

I played the partition's photos, war in 1971, war started for Kashmir which goes till date, Kargil war, 2008 Mumbai and Jammu and Kashmir state in 2013. When they finished, I played parts of Tamas. 

I continued, "The real suffers. The pain. The tears. The fight. The blood. It continues. Till today! What you will do today, will make the future look like this. Do you really dream for such India and Pakistan? This land fight will take us nowhere. Kashmir is no more Kashmir. Every day, there are bullets, bombs and cries of people. Muslims and Hindus were together before, let me be together now also. This division will lead your future generations with no solution at all. War after war and what is the result? Deaths of our own people and another reason for the next war! Did you ever imagined this? Well, if you didn't then know the fact, these mere lines will write its future with blood!"

I was praying to God secretly that they also agree to what I am trying to explain. No one was talking. There was deep silence. After some 5-10 mintues, Gandhi Ji got up from his seat, went to Jinnah Ji. They shook their hands. Mountbatten and his associates took a side seat. All looked at me and clapped. I smiled like a small kid. Wanted to jump and dance also but hey, I didn't! "There would be NO partition, beta! We will give you a beautiful India." Gandhi Ji said. 

Beeper started beeping and I knew it was time to leave. Oh, one photo with all would had been cool. I could put it on my FB and flaunt. Oh no, zooooom!

I opened my eyes. I was at YatraHolidays' station. Damn! I left my laptop there in time. Well, I will have to convince dad again! Whatever I had a wonderful time. Well, not very sure as to what happened had happened and what changes it made, I went to a cyber cafe. 

Googled : 
India's Map - Oh, undivided and one. My God!
Kargil War - No result found!

I rushed back home to share the news with my family. I saw my sister who just got married, back from her honeymoon. She went to Sikkim...yaa! I hugged her, she brought me a Kashmiri dress, she went to Kashmir. Heaven on earth. Flowers, kesar, beautiful location, chili weather and very warm people. Wow!

This is the place I wanted to take my family and friends to. Thanks to YatraHolidays! Yatraholidays ' time machine fulfilled my dream. My dream vacation. Undivided India. Where we can go in any part without any fear of communal violence. Just one nation. Thanks a zillion trillion times YatraHolidays! No fights, no terror! 

I took my sister's laptop to see pictures, actually to reconfirmed from Google. The history did change. Everything has changed. Communal violence is no more an issue. Government takes care of other issues. India was a safe place. Corruption-freeee....the bell started ringing. I fell from the bed.

Ahhhh....I rubbed my eyes. I looked at the ringing alarm clock. It was a dream? Oh no. No please. My mom came in the room and switched off the alarm clock. She said, "Will my princess get up? Come fast, breakfast is ready."

"Maa"

"Yes, beta!"

"Maa..Do you..do you know anything about Kargil war?"

"No, I don't!" My heart stopped beating. And then she continued. "Hahah. Yes of course my darling! Let me know what details you want. Is it in your assignment?"

"Uhh, Yes Maa!"

"Ok, great! Then get ready and come down fast. Oh and your sister has come and is using your laptop to show us pictures of Sikkim. So, don't panic and make this room upside down in search of it. Now get ready fast. Today has started, we need to make a fresh and beautiful start!"


                                                                            http://www.yatra.com

9 comments:

  1. Check lists... disciplined approach to planning... loved this part. Then you get into a fantasy world and got me all tied up in history. :)
    But the post did make me smile as I travelled through its lines...

    Arvind Passey
    www.passey.info

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  2. Hey swarn priya for a moment u took me in d meeting with u. Wish india was like what we wish her to be. N u write amazingly well.

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    Replies
    1. Same here...wish I could turn time and could stop the separation which brought only pain with it!

      Thanks :)

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  3. Hey swarn priya for a moment u took me in d meeting with u. Wish india was like what we wish her to be. N u write amazingly well.

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  4. excellent write up and good imagery that builds up the story!Very appealing!

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  5. Very creative post! Loved reading!

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