All About Emotions

"What has reporting got to do with emotions?" came the furious question from Swats or Swasthee, a journalist student. Seeing their elder friend Pradhyumna or Prads silent and just observing the railway track, Jeevitha or Jeevs said to Swats, "You failed the first test of journalism. Capturing the audience interest at the onset.... Let me try it..." and turning to Prads, "What do you say when our teacher tells this lady barkha dutt aspirant to give a emotional-write up like Kavi Kalidas", Prads spoke up, "Now thats something nice.... And what emotion you are trying to cover, Swats....?"
Swats was completely clueless, "Should I write about the anger of the girl whose boyfriend failed to make it to the date or about the eagerness of the harry potter fan for the release of the last installment...."

Prads felt awkward, "I don't suppose your teacher would have had those things in mind when she told about emotions...."
Jeevs knew exactly the content and coverage of emotions, "See... It should be something like a mother not shedding a tear on hearing her son's death in the kargil war, Husband and wife not having a word over the lunch after a fight and yet no one coming forward to say a sorry...or something of the sort"
Prads added his observation , "If you see the world through the eyes of a poet, there would be a thousand emotions. Look at that girl over there waiting for the train to come." As Swats and Jeevs looked at the pointed direction, they found a young girl of around twenty looking at the tracks as if she was waiting for a train. And then she glanced outside for a long time and then covered her face with both her hands and the head completely bend down. Prads expressed his opinion, " It looks like that she is bidding goodbye to this small town which has looked her grow from a small baby to a beautiful girl....Isn't that a nice emotion to write about."

Jeevs couldn't be a left behind and she started her play with words when she saw a small sandstorm, "Seems this land loves her dearly. Look at the way it is raising into the air from the ground as if it is telling her, 'Tu jaha jaha chalegi...'"
Swats stopped her midway, "Those lines seems to be sung by the coolies over there... Look at the way they are looking at her... When she goes away today, they will definitely drown their sorrows in beer bottles..."
Prads reprimanded her on her remarks, "Your teacher wanted to look through the eyes of poet... and not through the eyes of a critic"

Jeevs seemed to be more involved than Swats "Look at the langa-dhavani.... The way she has worn it tells me she has never worn it before... The very emotion of a girl leaving her mother's place to go to her husband's place could be seen in those eyes... The dress shows her association with this small town..."
Again the guessing mind of Swats woke up, "What if she is waiting for her boyfriend and they have planned to elope and run away and get married... ?"
Prads didn't like these words, "Reserve your what if's for your management classes... The girls demeanour doesn't indicate anything romantic at all. There is no iota of tension on her face... It could be she may be leaving for a distant college or she is leaving the place after completing her studies..."

And the train approached and the girl got onto her feet and ran towards the approaching train with too much anxiety...
Swats smiled, "Guys! She seems to be eager to get out of the place... oh... you want me to say it poetically... like I eagerly wait for the history lecture to get over..."
Now Prads doubted his earlier pondering s and started his maybes, "Maybe she was waiting for someone... someone she has not seen for a long time..."
And a very healthy man with a very round face about thirty five years got down from the train with two heavy suitcases. The girl ran down to him and helped him with the suitcases. She even carried one on her head..
Jeevs was dumbstuck, "Gosh... What's happening here? What kind of emotion is this? Compassion?"

Just then a coolie spitted at the sight, "This girl!She is a bitch! The day she joined as a coolie, she has been taking away some nice customers under our very nose..."
Prads and Jeevs shouted in unison, "A girl coolieeee!!!!!!"
Swats smiled and teased them, "These days girls are everywhere... Girls at signals as Traffic police directing the vehicles...Girls as bus conductors handing over tickets... Girls at Petrol pumps filling the gas for your vehicles... And now at railway stations carrying off your loads... Yo! Girl Power... This makes a great story... a great emotional story"

What Goes Into Getting A Yes

"Two-thousand five hundred short", shouted Jeevs. Jeevs or Jeevitha was disheartened at the funds collected for the summer tour planned for her batch of first years. She poured her heart out to her class-mate Swasthee or Swats and their senior friend Pradhyumna or Prads over a cup of coffee. And her story of plight was abruptly interrupted by Surendra, colleague of Prads.

Surendra requested for some help. Prads innocently asked, "Go ahead. Ask me.. Is it some project you have been doing...or do you want some money?" Surendra shook his head, "No re!... I have been rejected once again..." Prads was not able to understand his friend completely and confusingly asked, "You are looking for a job change?" Girls are quick in grasping things and so was Swats as she put it nicely, "They say face is the mirror of the mind... I don't know about that... but here Suri's face looks like a noticeboard to me and the noticeboard reads 'I have been again rejected by a girl'"

Suri asked the young girls, "Whats wrong with me? Is it my looks???" Jeevs looked at Swats and Swats teased Suri, "If looks could kill.. we would have been in the ICU by now, with you standing in front of us. I think beauty is in the eyes of the beholder... ", Jeevs was more critical, "Its boys who always look for the beauty... I have not seen a male poet or a writer who doesn't describe the heroine's figure and anatomy when it comes to her introduction... And if the girls look for the same in a boy, how can you men object to that...."

Prads saw that Suri was saddened by the comment and he tried to divert the topic from looks, "But girls above 25 look much more than looks. They look for security etc...." Suri got back into the conversation, "Yeah... And this girl was twenty six......"
Swats found that a bit absurd, "All those things like job, security comes before the ladki-dekho program... In the event of ladki-dekho, it all depends on how the boy presents himself..."
Suri found it unacceptable, "Its not a job interview!! Here there are elders to do that job for me..." Jeevs found it absurd, "Shit! 'Elders to do that job for me?' Would you say the same thing to your wife on the first night..."
Swats decided to cool Jeevs, "Jeevs! Its not that Suri can't present himself.... Its his respect for elders that stops himself from talking about himself in front of them... Remember his favorite book is Ramayana..."

Prads found that teenagers were hurting his friend and they were not aware of it, "Suri! Girls these days expect more from the boys.She may have wanted to tell you her vision of what she wants from her husband and whats her future ambitions....."
Innocent Suri summed his thoughts, "On seeing her, I was ready to fulfill all her aspirations. I didn't think for a second if those aspirations would clash with my ideals."
Jeevs laughed out loud, "Even in bollywood, they have stopped using such lines... Come out of the east-man color movies of the seventies.."
Swats was more polite in answering, "Even your close friend Prads couldn't read your mind when you first told him that you got rejected. Then how can you expect the girl, a complete stranger to believe that you would place the world at her feet and fulfill all her dreams..."

Suri was able to comprehend Swats words, "Hmmm... I need to change my mindset completely... How I'd love to have someone who could give me a crash course for this ladki-dekho program..."
Jeevs now rose for the occasion with enthusiasm, "I can train you in a week... All it would cost is just Rupees two thousand five hundred only...And I will make Girls see you in an avataar that they can't resist."