Of Life and Love

Winter has one good thing after another piled up for anyone who cares. Let me begin at the very beginning. First there is the laziness and coziness of the morning, the bliss of the beckoning sleep; and the feeling of stepping out of the pace of life by refusing to wake up. The fun is in the rebellion, the mischief of saying ‘boo’ to life and it’s fast paced rules. Second, there is this morning full of a shy sun trying to break out from the tyranny of the clouds and struggling to give us some warmth. And the tussle the two opponents have: sun and wind, fighting for supremacy. Third is the absolutely relaxing time post-lunch when not a single soul, XL dogs counted, can refuse to stretch out in the smiling sun and indulge in some gossip. Or maybe sit alone and think! That’s an uncommon way of relaxing but quite a few people like it, including the dogs (always) and me (sometimes). Then there is this evening thing, the rapid decline of the blooming day into the potent dusk. I can never help...

Scene 1: (A hostel room, most likely in GH III XLRI; the incumbent is asleep, sound asleep; evening time; the room is otherwise in good shape except for a confused pile of academic paraphernalia on the reading desk and an assortment of wires, mouse, keyboard et al that pop out here and there). A guy knocks on the door. No answer. A friend knocks louder. No answer still. “He’s asleep, strange. I’m sure he called us at this time.” The first guy seems amused and hesitates at the door, knuckles held back inches form the wood. “You know, this goes to show we juniors are exceptionally committed to this work, rather far too much if we wake a sleeping soul in XLRI. You understand we are committing a crime?” They both have a hearty laugh, pitched high intentionally to help the inmate out of slumber. No response. The first guy tries at last, only this time he calls out a name. They hear the inmate stirring inside. Bingo! Shuffling steps, someone comes to the door, some scratchy sounds an...