---

“I hate to study those big fat books” I yelled my anger out
My eyes then fell on a line of soldier ants, hastily moving about,
Being curious, I got up and silently closed the study door-
I came back and sat down to watch, the smart “ant galore”

I saw them moving in a line, discipline reigning fore,
It must be difficult for those tiny tots to convey messages through semaphore!
I moved my finger and distracted them, breaking the co-ordination,
They seemed unruffled and continued their focused expedition.

I observed the ants, carrying food for the troubled days they’ve seen,
I remember our teacher telling us that they are hard working.
As I sat there, I was bemused at the strength that each one bore,
They kept me captivated by their united conjure.

It struck me then, as I watched them and began to contemplate,
Their orderliness, unity and determination was a matter to speculate-
If ants being so tiny, practice such order with ease and spree;
Then, we being so much smarter, how hard for us could it be?

---

Love, Smile and Tear were seated in a confession
And thus begins an encounter of their debate and discussion
Love chooses to speak up first – for he sports vanity
The others then brace their good selves, to listen to his fallacy

“I am the strongest” Love exclaimed “I create bonds, I glue them too
I rule the heart of the living; hence I am better than you two”
Smile got up with surprise and threw Love a furtive glance
“Don’t be so hasty to conclude” said Smile to Love “We are awaiting our chance”

“I am the undisputed queen of joy” said Smile “I spread happiness to all,
I can mend broken hearts too and cause a Tear to fall”
Tear spoke “I must remind you my friend; you cannot ignore my worth,
I am the mirror to all emotions; be it sorrow, fear or mirth”

At this, I suddenly woke up from slumber, as I opened my eyes to see,
The calm face of my man in sleep, with love in abundance for me
I feel the upsurge of joy in my heart, a joy that is Oh so pure!
If Love can bring a Smile and cause a Tear to fall, then I’m in love for sure!

---

I live to see the smile I bring to a troubled weary heart
I love the moment when I wake up in the morning for a brand new start
I thank God each new day, for making it so colorful
I have come to realize, with all the pain, Life is beautiful

I see the children on the streets, with barely enough to eat
I refused the food my mom made last night, calling it an “oily treat”
I have learnt my lesson today; I will repair and do the needful
I will mend my ways and learn to laugh, cause Life is beautiful

I will live to dance in the rain again and feel the rain drops fall
I will ring up my friends long forgotten; tell them I miss them all
I will be a better person each new day to gather blessings handful
Cause I have come to realize, with all the pain, Life is beautiful

I have met many in my life who haven’t a family
I thank God for such loving people around to make life so worthy
I will live my life, just for them yet again and thank the Masterful
I will see the brighter side of life cause Life is beautiful

---

I nurture a dream for my grown up girl
I wish that she would marry
That she have a family of her own
And that’s where I start to worry…

She wouldn’t choose a match herself
Wouldn’t let us pick her man-to-be
She has listed down her preferences, saying
“I want a perfect man for me!”

We found a boy who matched her standards
Though dark, he carried a splendid aura
But my daughter fumed and fused, yelling
“I don’t want my kids to look like zebra!”

Then came along a handsome youth
Dashing and smart, though kind of thin
We were sure that he would charm her
She laughed, mocked him, called him “Polythene!”

Finally frustrated, she took up the matter,
And started the groom-hunt marathon…
Days turned to weeks and weeks to months,
But her search still carried on…

She finally found her perfect man,
“Mommy, he would take care of me,
He is rich and very famous and if we divorced
I’d be famous; I’d be on TV!”

Such dumbstruck were we that we could speak no more
We thought in disbelief “How could a girl be as dumb as she?
To marry a famous man for riches and leave him for good,
Just to be a celebrity!”

She just wouldn’t listen and set off to marry
The man she chose – a bloated beast,
A week later, she divorced; came home holding a magazine
“Oh come on mummy,” she said “I am in the news at least”

---

I bleed with a broken heart,
There’s no joy left in me
A year ago, this very day I was in love,
Convinced I found my destiny.

In him, I found my world of joy
And love sure was bliss!
For how would I know this joy would last four years?
Yet end with a goodbye kiss

I stare at the crushed red rose he gave
Remembering those good old days,
My cheeks feel moist, my hands tremble
God has His funny ways.

I squat with folded hands in prayer,
‘Keep him happy Lord’ comes a feeble whisper
For today he marries a friend I trusted,
I wish I could be her.

Gathering broken pieces of my life’s picture,
I find one missing, out of the few,
My picture isn’t complete without it,
Perhaps love was “you”!

---

My name is Brute; this house is mine, my owner Miss Sally
I write this prose with a heavy heart as I lay in quandary
I lift my brows and look about, expecting a gesture kind
I think I haven’t been well of late and I am turning blind

Miss Sally wakes up late for work and has no time for me
I remember my good old days, it seems remote reality
I was the star once, the only one, in my entire neighborhood
I was handsome then and I still am, let this be understood

I was my owner’s pride, for her delight, the neighbors all bemused
But times have changed, has my luck too? I wonder still confused
I stare at the ceiling all day long, with no one around to play
“I’m still the master of my domain”, I tell myself to hide my sorry display

One day Miss Sally brought home a boy, of tender age of six
I found a friend in him at first but now I am in a fix
He kicks around my manly tail and wakes me at night so late
Miss Sally doesn’t seem to care; this boy is a devil incarnate

I howl my grief alone, but there’s no one around to hear
My sorry tale, immense despair, the torture that I bear
He painted me once like a Red Indian and shot air guns at me
My bottom aches, my toe nail hurts “Oh Lord, have mercy on me!”

He made me roll over my belly and made me drink old wine
He painted my nails, galloped on me and threw me in turpentine
If this continues for another day long, I will live no more
I’d rather leave this place and start begging door-to-door

Finally one day, Miss Sally brought home news so good that made me smile
These are times when I thank the Lord for his mercy once a while
Miss Sally packed the boy’s suitcase and took him to the car
She called my name, smiled to me ‘You’re his friend from now’ – she said handing him a cookie jar!!

After a long wait, they were happy to be out, together on a sunny day
Hand in hand, hearts full of love, they strode along the way
When all of a sudden, the scene changed and the sky wore a robe so dark
Our girl grew worried, abandoned her man and ran to a nearby park

Our boy ran after his lady love, worried as he could be
"What’s the matter honey, you alright… you really worried me!"
She rummaged her handbag, looking for something; the search was on for long
“Oh Good Lord, I forgot my vanity bag”, she cried her melancholic song

She cried her make up out, her eyes black with smeared kohl
Her face bore a sad resemblance of a tragic foretold
Her man went out, to get ice cream and cajole our lady in despair
She meanwhile rubbed her sloppy face until it was beyond repair

The rain had washed away all her efforts, to look younger than her age
She puffed and fumed, dumbstruck at her own self, cursing her luck in rage
Her man returned with a bright smile, surprised, not finding her there
He looked around, rather puzzled, his eyes searching her everywhere

He sat down, in dismay, wondering why his luck turned out so bad
His eyes fell on an old lady, seated beside, rather looking sad,
He went up to her, to pacify, and told his tale in grief,
“Girls are difficult to apprehend grandma” he shook his head in disbelief!

The lady, much to his shock, then stood up and let out a cry so loud
“It’s me, your love, don’t you recognize me” she yelled fiddling her gaud
The boy dropped his jaw, as shocked as hell was he
He collected his belonging and fled the scene, shouting “I am sorry aunty!!”

---

A carefree mind, a soothing soul,
With youthful bliss abound,
A tender loving heart that cares,
Spreading smiles when she’s around.

I share my genes with her
She’s one I’d aspire to be,
Innocent and charming in her own ways,
She’s nature's gift to me.

She makes me smile through my tears,
My comfort in anxiety...
A little devil, with a halo
My best friend and guide, she'd forever be!

---

A jubilant soul, a delightful mind
A friend in whom I pride,
A heart that knows a weary soul,
And hears me out alright.

A lad who makes me smile with glee,
A friend in him I find,
Gentle yet stubborn, a child at heart
He is sure one of a kind!

Each day I respect him more,
For the person he has grown to be
A friend in need couldn’t be explained any better,
I celebrate the person that is he!

Springs of talents spate within,
He's God's marvel so sublime—
Oh pardon me… I've sinned enough,
If lying is a crime!

The heart that abounds in love,
A mind that’s transgressed all prejudice,
An angel descended from heaven above,
Pure thoughts free from malice,

When trouble and anxiety
Takes their toll on me,
She lays her hand in mine,
In those soft and tender eyes I see –

Her life's precious youth all given up for me,
Her soul, the cross of suffering bore
Wakes me up bringing back the sanity
As I remind myself – “I shall cry no more!”

All my fears are laid aside
It’s her that life is worth moving on…

Can someone so pure and gentle be?
She is but, none other –
To the world a noble lady,
I pride to call her my mother!

---

Shanon took part in a story writing competition, organized by the Mag Club. Though she suffered from short term memory loss, her parents always encouraged her to lead a normal life just like other kids of her age do.
They were made to sit in a big room full of 9 – 10 benches, 2 participants on either side of the bench and were given 2 sheets of paper, a pencil and an eraser. They were asked to write their names on the right top corner of the page.
As the bell rang out, the instructor signaled them to start. This is what Shanon wrote for the competition, as she decided to write a suspense story:

“Madhu decided that she would run away with her boy friend Raj. They were in love and wanted to get married but their families were dead against the match. Raj was waiting outside her house in his brand new bike. Leaving a note to her mother, Madhu silently came out of her house and got on the horse and rode away. She was so happy to be with Roy. They were in love for so many years.
As the cycle came to a halt, she got down from it and told Ram that she wanted something to drink as she was thirsty. She called up her mother and told them that she was going for an exhibition with Ram.
It was a beautiful sunny day and she stood there sipping fresh lime juice.”

As Shanon suddenly remembered that she had actually set out to write a horror story, she began scratching her head and decided to carry on ahead with the same plot, completely forgetting that she had actually decided to write a suspense story. She continued…

“It started getting dark and Madhu heard the wolves howling in the distance. She felt an uneasiness and saw that Ron was no where to be seen. She wanted to get home fast before it got late. She called up her mom and told them that she was coming home. Without wasting any time, she rode off in her car. Her father was waiting outside the house and demanded why she was late.
She got off her cycle and went inside the house. After her mother’s death 6 six years back, her father pampered her a lot. He prepared chocolate cake for her. She ran to the dining room and grabbed a sumptuous quantity of the chocolate fudge that her mother made. Her mother loved her a lot since Madhu became very lonely after her dad died in the army.
She then called up her friend Kiana and they left for badminton.
It was a bright and sunny day and there were beautiful butterflies everywhere. She loved butterflies and loved taking pictures of nature. Suddenly something bit her in the arm and she was crying, calling her dad to come and help her.
The ambulance was parked outside the house and she wondered what had gone wrong. She saw her dad come out of the van and was so happy that we were all going for a picnic. Madhu and her friend Kim were very excited about the adventurous trip that her mother had planned. Suddenly her cat ran towards her and jumped over her. It was her new dress and Madhu was furious that it got dirty! She took the dog and chained it near a tree.
Then they all went inside the house, drank some coke and greeted Uncle Sam who had been waiting to take them for a movie. It was a beautiful and sunny day.”

---

Day 12, some year

I have tried everything to exorcise my calories which have become a matter of grave concern for my owner. She tells me that my doctor has advised me only dry cereals and milk, till I get flat abs and have asked me to continue checking my weight at periodic intervals, without fail.
I have been kept on a strict exercise regime of rolling over the floor thrice a day, dragging my belly over the big lawn and running around to fetch the ball from their 3 year old niece, who is completely insane!

Where is the love gone??? I am just a healthy dog and they are bent on making me starve? I have discussed the matter over with my other friends of the colony and they completely sympathize with my situation! I can't even howl my grief.

Maybe they love me to the point of an overflow!

Now what I am worried about is…I tried checking my weight today in the new weighing machine that my owner has specially designed for me. Such a thoughtful lady!
For some freaky reasons, the machine kept showing me 36 units, when just last week it was 29! It was fine when she brought it in the morning today.

I fear that the machine might have lost its calibration!

---

The toothbrush came to confess the torture he had been inflicted with, after just 2 weeks of sheer exploitation and embarrassment he had to go through, at his work place. As he entered the confession church, he saw sad toothbrushes, angry toothbrushes, dejected toothbrushes, retired toothbrushes… all waiting for their turn to confess to their “toothbrush complaint department (TCD)”.

As our hero of the story Dental-Care gets his turn to confess, he says “Every morning and night, without my permission, at unacceptably odd timings, I am being dragged for work and made to clean up the mess that is created. They don’t even wash me after making me do that filthy work. My forefathers were great fighters and I wanted to pick up after them, carry on the family tradition to be the most reliable and long lasting tooth brush ..but the people here are insane!
During this time, along with me, an old toothbrush that belonged to the father and a smelly one that belonged to the son, they got a brand new pink toothbrush for the daughter, replacing the old one who used to often fight with me over petty issues.
I instantly fell in love with the pink toothbrush. When we were off duty, we would often share our thoughts in an attempt to get-to-know-each-other.
She was the love of my life. I imagined having a happy family with her, until one day when their daughter took the pink toothbrush out of my cozy tooth brush stand, while pinky was still talking to me. This is uncalled interruption and infringement of “code of conduct”! I have never met her again” he said sobbing.

“Well, you can file a complaint against this issue and we will have it looked up, by one of the most able sergeant Toothbrush Sir Oral. I will let you know if we need to contact you for any further details. Dont worry, things will be fine now. Next…”

With a renewed hope against tolerating the unacceptable behavior of the tyrants, he leaves the complaint department after formally lodging a complaint.

Such was the impact and aggravation from the other tooth brush communities that worked for the welfare of their being, that his story became well known, spread far and wide and became famous in no time. He didn’t meet the love of his life though, but justice was done and the Dellas family were issues a penalty note from TCD. To this day, the "code of conduct" issued by the tooth brush community are followed strictly by their users all over the world. His followers have, in their love and admiration for Dental-Care, put up a statue which stands as their tribute to their hero – who fought for justice, liberty, equality and his lost love.

---

R.S: Waaaz daaaa?
Oh! Aiiiii noooo….Yeeggg boilll??? Heeheehee. Yeuu speak tiffffre yenglisss.
Oakk. Aaaand?

Tedd: Yeaa rye! Sooom tea plijjjj?
R.S: NO taaaank yeu, I daaan take.
Tedd: No. me!
R.S: Yeuu daan likkkke tooo?
Tedd: I waaaan teeeeaa
R.S: Oh Rye!
Tedd: Rye! I waaaan breaaa, baaat ergggh, yyegg boilll 2, teeeeea
R.S: Yeuu waaan waaat aaahhhh? Plaaaay waaaat aahhh or mineeera waaaat ahhhh?
Tedd: Waaaz saaa?
R.S: waaat aaahhhh?! Plaaaay waaaat aahhh or mineeera waaaat ahhhh?

Tedd scratched his head as to what the hell “Plaaaay waaaat aahhh or mineeera waaaat ahhhh” could mean. It then struck to him that maybe he meant “Plain water or mineral water”.
Tedd: Mineeraaaa waaat aaaahhhhhh!
R.S: Rye!
Yeeeuuuu waaa shuuuugaaa inn teeeeee aaaa yeeeuuuu waaa ssshhhhhuuuugaaa ooutsaaa teeee?
Ted seemed confused. Now what on earth does this mean? After thinking for a minute, but without remaining silent (lest the man would hang up) Tedd answered “Waaaazzz saaaa”?
R.S:Teeeeee? Aooooo yeeeuuu waaaa shuuuggaaa
Tedd: Oh you mean sugar in the tea? Oh yes. You can put 2 teaspoon.
Shhhuuuuggggaaaa tuuuuu sppoooonnnn. Rye!
R.S: Rye!
Tedd: Rye…Taaaanks. Breaaaann it to maiiii room. Roooom 20!

As Tedd hung up, he felt a sense of pride – a pride often experienced after accomplishment of a big task that looks almost impossible to achieve.
Letting out a sigh, he paced the room of his suite and decided to explore the suite while his breakfast arrived.
To Tedd, the suite had 2 rooms – the master bedroom was bigger than the other room, which looked more of a dining and hall room for guests. The suite was quite cozy and neatly furnished. The bathroom was a little small, but who needed a big bathroom on a short visit. He didn’t want to play cricket while he bathed. He concluded that for 850 Rupees, Indian currency, this place was worth it.
There was a knock at the door. “Room service” someone called out.
Tedd opened the door and found a small, thin man carry a tray with his breakfast.
As he let the man come in, he was wondering who he actually spoke to on the phone.
“ Amm… Excuse me. Can you please tell me who generally takes room service orders here?” Tedd sounded very curious.
“It is me, Sir” replied the man with a smooth flawless English accent.
But Tedd was not convinced. “I mean do you have anyone else taking the orders, besides you? Someone who speaks in a different English accent?”

The man thought for a moment and looking very worried said, “Did he use words like rye, waaaa etc?”
Tedd was elated. “Yes...Yes that’s the person. Who is he?”
The man kept shaking his head and said “That’s my teenage son Luis. He doesn’t work here but when his vacations are going on, he does like to hop in here and help me take orders in the kitchen. I do not know why he keeps troubling all our customers here. He has a perfect English accent, but even then …. He is …Incorrigible! I apologize to you Sir, but please do not report the matter to the higher authorities.” The man pleaded.
Tedd thought over for a minute and then said, “Oh no no….Not at all. I just wanted to find out who he was. Thanks. I will call you once I am done with my breakfast.”As the man left, Tedd sunk in his bed and thinking over how he had been fooled by a teenager, he smiled to himself. “Rye!” he whispered to himself, as he grabbed a loaf of bread from the tray

---

After the shower, Tedd got dressed and headed for the phone by the bed. Lying on the sprawling and lavish bed, he dialed 02. A voice greeted him on the other side and Tedd mentioned “Room service for some breakfast” just as informed thoughtfully by the guy.
“Please hold on while we connect you to Room service” he was told.

“Yelo…Room seeebiz heyar” replied a voice.
“Can you please send some loaves of bread, butter, 2 eggs boiled, banana and masala tea to my room, please. My suite number is 20. Thank you.” He was about to hang up when the voice came “Waaat saa?”
“Oh I am so sorry. Was I too fast?” Tedd apologized.
“I will repeat that for you.”
“Bread”
“Red?” the voice repeated.
“Bread!” Tedd said aloud and clear.
Voice: “Oh breaa? Rye! “
Tedd: “Bread! Its bread! Please do not remove the “e” and “d” from the word, it sounds inappropriate”
Voice: “Yes, breaaa Yes…rye….aaand?”
Tedd: “And… “he thought for a moment and while he was still thinking what to order, the line went dead.

The person taking the order suddenly kept the receiver down and all Tedd could hear was a click!
Wondering what happened, Tedd called up again, and to his luck, the same guy picked up.
Room service (R.S): Yelo. Room seeebiz heyar
Tedd: Hi, I was placing my order from room 20. You cut the call while I didn’t finish ordering. Can you take the order, please?
R.S: New order?
Tedd: No, no previous one.
R.S: Rye, you waaan baat erh?
Tedd: Sorry?
R.S: No praaaplem. I jusss ask.
Tedd: Yes, what did you ask?
R.S: you waaan baat erh?
Tedd: Oh butter?!
R.S: No you waaan baat erh?
Tedd: Yes please. And 2 boiled eggs.
R.S: Waaz saaaa?

To Tedd that sounded like “Waaz up”.

Tedd: Yeah I am fine. I want 2 boiled eggs.
R.S: Yeuu waaaaan to boil aassss?
Tedd: Egg boil! Jesus!
Tedd wiped the perspiration from his forehead as he felt his appetite diminish.

---

Tedd N. Grimm, a C++ developer at “Dolphin Software”, was one of the most diligent employees. If you ever happen to ask him “But…Tedd, how will I recognize you?” he would reply,” Well… I am 6 feet tall, well built … make that athletic, fair complexion with a French beard and I am mostly dressed in formals – black suit to be precise. People say that I look handsome, well I will leave that to your able judgment.” And he would smile at this high-rated, self proclaimed assessment of himself while he allows himself the liberty to bask in joy, glory and contentment.

Meet Tedd N Grimm, an excellent software engineer who has devoted 7 years of his life to “Dolphin Software” - a private firm, based in Delhi, renowned for manufacturing quality software for their reputed client firms. Tedd works for Dolphin Software as a team lead. He is one who is undoubtedly very self obsessed. Now let’s get down to some details, shall we?
Teddy is a charming personality, who is single and ready to mingle, is aged 32 years, dark brown eyes, wheatish complexion, thin brows, and sharp jaw lines, clean shaved though all his attempts to grow a decent respectable “French beard” were futile. He stands 4 feet 11 inches tall and was partly COLOR BLIND.

Tedd was in Bangalore for an official meet scheduled on Jan 25th at 3 P.M. He was to give a presentation to his client’s who had been put in “Sea view” hotel, which was a huge 5 star hotel. Tedd was put up at “Bell view” hotel which was an inexpensive hotel, about 3 kilometers from Sea view. He reached Bell view at 8:30 A.M, a day in advance, all dressed in black coat, blue formal pant and pink tie, which he presumed to be black.
Tightening his tie and taking a look around, Tedd walks towards the reception.
“Excuse me Madam; I have a reservation in this hotel by the name of Tedd N Grimm. Can you kindly check that up?” he smiled as he looked at the receptionist, wondering why she had earphones on during work hours.
She looked up and with a confused expression smudged on her face; she repeated “Dead and Grimm?”
“No ma’am, its Tedd, T-E-D-D, Tedd N.Grimm.” He corrected her.
“Just a minute Sir” she said as she looked up in the computer and turning to a cabinet, she unlocked it, took out the room keys and handed it over to him with a smile.
“Our room service will be with you shortly. You are to go to room #20, 3rd floor, second from the right. Leave your luggage here Sir. We will have it brought to your room. Have a pleasant stay.”
“Very well, thank you” replied Tedd with a big smile.

He took the keys from her and humming a tune, he heard at the railway station, he walked towards his room. By the time he finished unlocking the door to his suite, the room service guy was already there with his business travel bag.
Throwing an impressive look at the boy, he said “That was fast. Thank you”

The guy explained him that the suite had everything arranged, but just in case he needed anything else, he should dial 02 and ask for “Room service” placing his request. The guy smiled at him and then left closing the doors softly behind him.

Tedd pulled the curtains and opened the big windows of his so called suite, while closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. Rehearsing a few lines from the presentation, he unpacked his bag and took out a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, assuming it to be blue.
He then hopped in the bathroom to have a shower.