Is it really the end?

9 PM - 'Beep Beep' rings Sonu's phone. Neha writes ' Hey I have to show you something. Can you please come online for sometime'. Too stressed with office work and meetings, he replies ' I have meetings till midnight. Cant promise, but will try'. A little upset Neha says' I will wait till 12. Please do come'. But sonu doesnt come online and apologises for it at 12. With a sad face, Neha goes to bed. Next morning emails few pictures of him which she'd morphed and wanted to show them a day before. All her excitement dies when she doesnt receive any response from Sonu all day. But this bubbly little girl, smses in the evening and enquires if he liked his pictures. Then comes a reply which silenced Neha for a few minutes. 'I lost my grandfather last night. Too disturbed to say anything right now'. Not knowing what and how to say anything to her friend, she picks up the phone and dials his number. No answer. One second thought, she smses him to take his personal time and says she will call again later.

Days pass, still the only response she would get is 'Please leave me alone. I want to be in my personal space for sometime'. A month passes, Sonu completely stopped responding to Neha's calls, smses and emails now. But Neha was not to give up on his friend so easily, she would happily take all scoldings and mood-swings but not leave her friend to mourn alone. Sonu's responses made her feel as if he is in too much pain and is not willing to share it with anyone. One day she pushed Sonu too much through her smses and calls, that finally he replied. 'I dont want to talk to you forever. Please dont disturb me anymore'. It came as a shocker to Neha.

Were Neha's intentions wrong? Was she misunderstood? Did Sonu create a situation for Neha to get tensed about his condition?

His email brought tears in Neha's eyes. She felt extremely bad. But she didnt show her anger, instead she sent a short email apologising for being pushy and worsening the situation.

The next few days were gloomy for Neha. But she would not show her emotions publicly. Her vibrant smiles completely hid her tears. She is still hopeful that one day she would be understood and will have her friend back.

My first Blog

This is the first time in my life that I thought of penning down my thoughts.

It was Diwali yesterday. This is the only time of the year when you see a feeling of togetherness, feeling of spreading love and smiles and best wishes all around you.

For me, this Diwali was very special. I had a couple of reasons to feel excited..like my new home, new car and most importantly my entire family in India.

The only thing which was upsetting was I could not wish a few of my friends due some xyz reasons.

Although my health didnt allow me to stress myself much, but there is something very special about this festival that it gives you extra energy to spend. My day started with searching for Rangoli patterns (my favorate activity on Diwali), and then buying flowers and colors, and most importantly negotiating with the shopkeepers to give some discount on the above-normal prices. And then, in the evening, lighted up the entire house and did the Lakshmi Puja. And then it was time for some crackers. I remember my childhood days when I used to burn plenty of crackers until I was taught in school about Air Pollution. But since this Diwali was special with all family members (including my american nephews & indian niece), fireworks couldnt be missed. My 4-year old nephew imagined a flower-pot (what we call 'anaar' in hindi) to be a monster who was growing in size until someone shooted at it and made it fall to death. Wow, I never imagined a flower-pot to be a growing monster until now..:-)

Soon the festival season is going to end, but the fun never ends.