THE VOICE OF HONESTY

"I DID NOT DO IT!!" he said, loudly, his voice defiant and vehiment.

 

An honest government official, accused of taking a bribe.

 

As the entire office looks on. A few shocked faces. A few sad. A few perturbed and not knowing what to do. A few knowing smiles.

 

An enquiry. All evidence perfectly set up.

 

"I did not do it." He strongly stated.

 

As he sat waiting, A man walks in. An offer. "Accept our terms and stay. Defy us and be prosecuted."

 

"I did not do it." he said, angry and offended.

 

A phone call. A senior official, in service for more than 30 years.

 

"I dont know how many times I have to tell you this. I am telling you this out of my experience. Both the government and the people need more officals like you. But you can do more good being on the job than being suspended and put on perennial enquiry. Be smart and patient. With a higher post comes more authority. I am sending your transfer order. Its upto you to render yourself useless or make a difference long term."

 

"I did not do it." he whispered and sobbed. "I know"..said his wife as she packed for their third move this year.

 

 

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

THE SLUDGE : A NANO BLUNDER part 2

To read part 1check out : http://abitofthisandtat.blogspot.it/2013/10/a-nano-blunder.html?m=1

The waves splash on the hull of the ships as they move slowly alongside the sludge. Splash....swish..splssh.

Within the ship....everyone sat in silence. They had been there for almost 12 hours now. They were watching videos made of the sludge...click click...the remote went in the hands of Tara Craft, historian and explorer. 

She looked around at the others in the room. Captain Kirk of the army was going tap tap tap on the table impatiently with his pen. Drag pitt, youngest in the room, PhD in astro physics. .was Slurrp..drinking coffee. Jack Clover, FBI; Sigmund Droid, psychologist;  Fleur de la mour, oceanographer; Arya bhattacharya, mathematician and astronomer; who was currently pouring over lots of printouts...

And finally....whats his name..  hmmm...never mentioned...a swami...hmmmm.....who sits and keeps praying.  God knows why the government brought him here.

The other ship had another set of scientists. They had not met them yet.

They sit and watch the videos together in silence.  click...

Video 1 : the sludge moves slowly on the surface of the water. 

Evidently weightless

Click...next video: a school of fish get curious. Glop...glop..the fish disintegrate. 

It obviously destroys any living creature it touches. But the size of the sludge remains the same.

Click...next video...an underwater camera is sent to check under the sludge. The camera shows a black mass and then...crack...pop...fizzle...camera destroyed.

It destroys anything in its path. 

Click..next ...a soldier trying to get a sample of the sludge from a helicopter. They get close enough and use a cast iron vessel to get a sample.  crack...fizzle and the vessel is gone. In the process few specs of the sludge fall on the soldiers hand. He lets out a blood curdling scream as the sludge slowly eats him alive. He falls into the sludge....glop.. ..glop.. .and not a trace of the soldier is left.

There is a shocked silence in the room.

"I lost a man"..yelled captain Kirk.

"I still say the only way to destroy it is to bomb it!!! Can't you people understand. It can reach the shores of any  country. It can destroy the world."

Whirrr....more printouts...

" Fair enough...but if you bomb it and it scatters, it just spreads out more. We have to contain it. Question is how do you contain something that destroys everything", said Tara.

Slurrp..." A stronger metal...how about tungsten. .?" Drag pitt finally looked up from his coffee and spoke.

Hummmm....the swami continued to pray.

As everyone got involved in a heated discussion, Kirk picks up the radio gives some orders.

Suddenly they all hear a Whooosh of a plane above them and then BOOM!!! Whoooosh...Splaasssh!!!

They watched in shock as the sludge scattered on the ship closer to it...it slowly begins to disintegrate. 

The other one moves to a safe distance before it can offer any help.

Scream.... crack... splash...Woooo.. wooo..the alarm sounds..ABANDON SHIP!!!!

To be continued....
 

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

M*A*S*H - mobile army surgical hospital

KABAAALM...BLAST!!!! Exploded the shells...

As the doctors sat in the mess temt they hear the PA system come to life. Crackle...crackle...incoming wounded...report to OR...I repeat...report to OR STAT!!!!

They all rush out... Vroooom...Screech.. The ambulances sped in and braked.

The OR was in full swing. Two  doctors worked on triage, outside prioritising who goes for surgery first based on how bad they are wounded.

Aaaah....owww...groaned the wounded. Nurses and orderlies ran around helping them give first aid and moving the wounded.

Clank clink clank...went the surgical instruments. Pitter patter of feet as wounded were moved in and out of the OR. There were 4 tables side by side in one tent that was the OR.

Shuffle. ..push. ..swish...as the nurses and orderlies replaced and changed sheets, bandages, gloves, instruments...as more and more fresh wounded were brought in.

BAAAM!! Another one...this one seemed closer. The tent shook and then stood still. Everyone looked up for a second while they covered up the patients on the table to prevent debris from falling on them, then back to work.

After almost 12 hours of surgery they all sat at the mess tent, exhausted.  The company clerk was filling out details of the wounded with the help of the chief surgeon.

Over 250 wounded, 10 casualties,  2 amputations, one spinal injury, 1 had shrapnel in his eyes,  2 lost their hearing in the blast, one lost his sanity. 

The injured, once better were sent back to the front.

The remaining,  obviously unfit to fight, were discharged from the army with a medal to remember. 

Thump..thump..thump...the surgeon banged his fist on the table. Each one of the wounded are brothers, husbands, fathers and sons. 

Casualties include not only soldiers but civilians too....there is absolutely no regard for human life.The pain. The suffering. 

The futility of war.

The Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) refers to a United States Army medical unit serving as a fully functional hospital in a combat area of operations. The units were first established in August 1945, and were deployed during the Korean War and later conflicts.

It was an alternative to the system of portable surgical hospitals, field hospitals, and general hospitals used during World War II. It was designed to get experienced personnel closer to the front, so that the wounded could be treated sooner and with greater success.Casualties were first

treated at the point of injury through buddy aid, then routed through Battalion Aid Stations for emergency stabilizing surgery, and finally routed to the MASH for the most extensive treatment. This proved to be highly successful; during the Korean War, a seriously wounded soldier who made it to a MASH unit alive had a greater than 97% chance of survival. 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Army_Surgical_Hospital

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekendhttp://blog.blogadda.com/2013/10/11/wow-sound-expressions-love-of-writing, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

THE 'T' FACTOR

She said "Sani", he mistook it to be "money"..a few years back...

His name was called. My friend and I walked in. The smell of inscence sticks and 'malli poo'(jasmine flowers) filled the air. Traditional straw mats covered the floor. One wall was filled with pictures of various gods and goddesses, each one adorned jasmine garlands. On either side hung traditional lamps lit in ghee. The cool breeze from the air conditioning hit us before turning away again.

In the center of the room sat the person we came to meet. We had to wait almost a month to get her appointment. Her clientile included VIP's from various fields be it politics or cinema. She sat cross legged on a mat on the floor in front of all the pictures. I whispered to my friend. "Why is she sitting with her back facing all the pictures?". He replied in hushed tones, "She has to face the east and so does all the pictures of the gods, now shut up and sit".

She sat with her eyes closed. Her assistant who sat on her left  signalled us to be patient. In front of her lay his horoscope. I sat thinking..why was he here? Aaah...bad times, to determine the 'T'(time) factor in his life. His career was at an all time low. A home loan(2 including a vacant land), A car loan, Jewellery loan, Credit card payments, insurance payments, a strained marriage, education of two kids, old parents who need medical attention ....sound's like everybody's problem? well, he thinks his problems are the worst!!! He had to take a loan just to pay for her appointment!!

He was told not to ask any questions and quietly listen to what she says. She will say it only once. She suddenly opened her eyes and looked at him..and said "My son, I can understand your concerns"

"Sani(saturn) is in the 4th house for sometime"

"The house of the mother and comfort,
Problems with friends, in sale of land,
In job, seperation from family, in health of parents,
In moving abroad and money is in demand."

"In a year's time, Guru(Jupiter) graces you,
The house of job, career and work,
On the 10th house, he casts his looks,
At times of trouble, an additional perk."

She paused, and then continued :

"You need to appease the gods,
Pray and light a lamp of black seseme seeds,
Every saturday at the temple,
In front of lord shani, your troubles till he heeds."

"Feed crows, the vehicle of his,"

The damn phone rang...RRRIIIING!!!

"Help the handicapped, donate money,"

He fumbled to find his phone...

"He will surely grace you,"

WHERE IS THAT BUTTON!!!

"Such is the greatness of lord Sani."

He looked up.

She was done. We were asked to leave. He was almost in tears. "Can you believe it!!, i forgot to put my phone on vibrate mode!!...I did not hear the last few lines...did you?" before I could answer he went on..."Atleast she said in the end, lots of money". I wanted to say, she said Lord sani and not lots money. But something told me not to.


He came out of the building a much more confident and happy man. Saturday after saturday he went to the temple with his family, fed the crows and helped people. Stayed patient in his current job. Patched up things with his wife. Spent time with his children. He deligently applied for several jobs. A few months passed...he applied to a company based at Singapore was looking for profiles similar his. The process took a few months but he got the job. At the end of the year he moved to singapore, alone.

As he left, he said..in a voice that showed absolute reverance, "what she said is coming true. At the end of one year, my career improved, I am seperated from my family, and I am going to make lots of money..can you believe it?"

I did not say a word.

He is now settled in Singapore. His family has shifted with him. His parents live in chennai. He is 'almost' financially sound. To him, All is well.

I sit down and wonder. I am amazed at the power of faith and suggestion. What was the reason for the change in his life? faith?  charity? rituals to god? his own hard work? The power and strength of the human mind to make or break a life is something we see in many people's lives. With growing problems and stress, most people are looking for something to go by, cling on to...mostly something that can give them hope..herein...THE 'T' FACTOR!!

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

A NANO BLUNDER

She said "Doom". He mistook it to be "Boom"...few minutes earlier....

Dr. Doom sat on her massive iron throne molded in the shape of skulls and bones. As her enormous submarine rose slowly to the surface, she said aloud to her audience..."my loyal subjects..today we shall achieve what we have worked for the past many years. Our nano war heads are finally ready and we shall release them detonate it upon humans, releasing the nanomites that will turn them into dust in seconds. HA HA HA...We shall then take over planet earth and rename it to PLANET DOOM!!!"

As the audience applauded and cheered, a huge vibration shook the submarine.

"NOOOO...IT CAN'T BE!!! YOU IDIOT! The missiles have not been released yet!! THE CODE FOR DETONATION WAS "BOOM" NOT "DOOM".

Dr.Doom, her subjects and her submarine floated harmlessly on the pacific ocean.

News flash: "NASA satellite sends in new pictures of the pacific ocean. A huge floating mass of sludge, that appears to be moving slowly, discovered in the early hours this morning. Government sends in 2 ships with scientists to investigate. More news updates to follow."

To be continued....

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda