Those Five Comrades....

They think alike, like any other youngsters who wishes to have fun in their lives. Yeah, they are my friends, who have always helped me to stay happy and forget all my worries…. They’ve made me do assignments and seminar papers for them by promising to buy me chocolates or juices from the canteen which they would never do… still, I do it for them because I never wanted them to lose their marks or get scolding from any of our faculties… I never knew that I’ll miss them so much in my life…. Once, they boozed in their hostel and were caught as one of our classmates Mr. X (Brutus) went and told this to their hostel warden. We never expected Mr. X to do like this because he uses to roam around with these five doing all the stupid things possible. I don’t know what changed him like this… X was my very good friend with whom I’ve had so much of fun. He used to tease me, bug me, make fun of me….and, what not!! But due to so many reasons he changed, a lot. Whatever the reason be, I never expected him to change like this…. Let’s forget about him because, he has got no role in our lives anymore, even as a classmate. I would like to talk about those five. Because of this X, they got suspended from the college; they were not allowed to write the final exam. They were asked to vacate the hostels and leave the campus immediately. They left, without any complaints or arguments. I’m not supporting the mistake they did, am supporting the ones those who did the mistakes because they’re MY FRIENDS! Without them, classes were really boring, when we go to the department, we felt as if we’re going for a funeral…. It was so awful…. Never felt like attending any classes or submitting any assignments… I wanted to bang my head towards some pillar or wall… we miss them a lot… a lot more than ever before. I can imagine the situation of the parents of these five. They went home heavy-hearted and ashamed for the first time. They were speechless in front of their parents tears… we were all helpless… after this mishap, we’d a day for industrial visit to the nearest radio station in our city, we never wanted to go because we were together for each and every visits and reporting that we’d before. Due to this reason, we got back to college right after the visit without roaming around or hanging around anywhere…

I know this is not the end of life or anything but still, I want them to come back as soon as possible and start rocking again. They’re frustrated so much that they’ll do anything out of their anger. But, I want them to make others realize that it is only the relationship that will last forever, not the ‘Rudraksha’!!!!

Let them laugh, I don’t care…!!!

Media plays an important role in everyone’s life. But the 39yr old Aruna, from the rural outskirts of Palakkad never thought that media can make a tremendous change in her life. Eight years back, when her husband Ponnunni (44) died of AIDS, she was left all alone in life with the HIV virus that her husband passed on to her. People stopped using the public tap which Aruna used. They drained the pond in which she bathed; the road which she used to walk was frequently disinfected by putting chlorine. Her mother Anandavalli, a school teacher was the only person who supported her. Now things have changed, nobody bothers if she takes bath in the pond or not. She goes for marriages and meetings, people find pleasure in sharing some moments with her. And now she says, “thanks to media….” With smiles..!!
“Yes, my life has changed. Now I can go anywhere I want. I’ve learned to ignore people who always ask me sit in a corner and cry as I am a widow. Now-a-days nobody has a problem in giving me shake hands or using the water cooler from which I drank water.”- Aruna says. Before, people were afraid of talking to her since they thought that HIV is a contagious virus. After media has taken its role in giving proper awareness about HIV/AIDS, its causes and mode of spreading etc…, people have started being kind and helpful to the victims. Aruna never used to go out few years back. Her mother took care of dropping and picking up her children from school. But, after joining “Prathyasha”, an organization of the HIV victims, Aruna has changed in many ways. She now works as a team to solve the issues and problems faced by the victims everywhere. If somebody asks her about her children’s blood report, she has it ready to show that they are not the carriers of the HIV virus. Aruna takes medicine twice daily and now she’s extremely healthy that she can do any job she wants to. She gives counseling to the victims and makes them overcome the situation and live like others.
In her white and white sari with her pleasing smile, she goes to everyone who need help and conduct AIDS awareness campaigns and workshops in schools and colleges. All that she’s striving hard is to eradicate the stigma towards the HIV victims in the society and to give them a chance to live.

IT’S ALL ABOUT HIM….

It’s all about him, the most problematic student in my class. He never dress properly in a way that people will say, “oh, he looks smart…” he will never behave in a way that people will say, “he’s a nice guy…” but those who very well know him, including I, can tell that, he’s the most wonderful friend one can ever have. He’s having his own ups and downs which everyone usually has.
A really frank person who’ll hug you tightly and say “thanks da…” if you do something right or will blow off your face if you do something against his ethics. And when I say his ethics, it doesn’t mean his selfish ideology or anything. It’s all about the right and the wrong that a true person would always think about. It’s all about the human conscience and his philosophy of, “it’s better to be hated for what you’re than being loved for what you’re not…” He is what he is always. He never tells lies to get rid of punishments. If he’s doing something, he has got fortitude to stand up and say, “yes, I did it...” he’s not a coward, he can never be so.
He smiles amidst his frustrations. He doesn’t know to put the mask of a good guy and roam around doing all the stupid things to pull others leg. He’s not a backstabber. If you’re wrong, he’ll tell it on your face. And if he’s wrong, I’ve had the rights to question him and to catch his collar and ask, “Why the hell did you do that…”
He won’t flatter you or arrange party for you. But, at times he’ll say “great job” looking at your effort and that makes it all…. He won’t always keep in touch all the friends quite often. But, in case if you need some help, he’ll be there for you. He won’t keep any grudge with in his mind. Once the issue is solved out, he forgets about it. He doesn’t boast about what he does or dream about his future. He just lives for the day and leave the rest for the future. No complaints, no arguments and no fights unless there is a proper reason to it. If he gets a marker and the white board in the class room, all that he would write on it will be, “it’s better to die standing than to live on your knees…” Many a times I’ve felt if I was him. The real coward in me is jealous of him. How many births do I have to take to live a life like him? I’ve felt that I don’t have a backbone to live like him, boldly. Kudos to him from the bottom of my heart, success will show him a way very soon.
College authorities will drop their jaw once when they know about his success later on in the future. And like the Veeru Sahasra Buddhe, the College head in the “3 Idiots” movie, some others will also nitpick themselves for all that they’ve done in their lives till then. His parents’ tears will be wiped off with his fruitful triumph and on that very day, we, those who know him and love him well, will sit on a corner and shed two drops of tears out of happiness and think about the hellish kind of days that he’d gone through in his life…!!

Hats off..!!