Growing years

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"Who is this old man?Is he your grandpa?He looks smart.But, he looks intelligent.
Where did you loose the last factor down the line?"


"Enough man.This is not my grandpa."


"Then?"


"It is Sigmund Freud."


"You mean ,your friend's grandpa?"


"No.He is the Father of Psychoanalysis."


"What a wierd name to have.Psychoanalysis.Where does this person live?"


"Hey,it's not a person.It's a medical term."


"I see.
They are big words that go over my head.Be more simple."


"Okay.Okay.He is the person who gave us the theory of five stages of development in every person's life."


"What five stages?I want to know.
But, please make it short and simple.I am not a medical freak."


"All right.Here are the five stages:

1.The oral stage:

This is in the first two years of life. Mouth is the main pleasure  zone. Now,greatest source of pleasure is sucking or putting objects into mouth.














2.The anal stage:

This is from two to three years. The anus becomes the 
main source of pleasure. Toilet-training is the major issue now.

3.The phallic stage:

This is from ages three to six. Self-manipulation of the genitals gives max. pleasure.

4.The latency stage:
This stage is from ages six to twelve. Now, sexual motivation is lost and a child gets busy developing personal skills

5.The genital stage:
It occurs after puberty and extends into adulthood.Now, the deepest feelings of pleasure come from sexual relationships with other adults.

Essence:

Development places conflicts for a person at every stage, that must be resolved then and there.

If these conflicts are left unresolved, there will be dramatic effects influencing an individual’s behavior throughout his/her life."


"Hey, that was short and hot.I have to leave now.Catch you later.Bye"

Snippet 3

Once a rich,city-bred man saw a person in humble clothes, sitting outside a shrine,silently for long.


At the end of an hour , a monk from within the shrine served food to the person.


The man was intrigued by these happenings.He believed that everyone should be worth the food he eats.
He could contain himself no more.
Quick to react, he asked the monk ,"Does this person outside do any work at the shrine?"


"No",said the monk.


The man became angry."Then why do you feed him free of cost.You must be stupid to do so."


The monk listened to him patiently and said, "Watch the person till nightfall and tell me what you feel?"


So,the man positioned himself at a distance from that person and watched him till nightfall.
During the day,he tried to talk to the person but,received no reply.


The man was infuriated."I am such a big man in society.There are hundreds of people waiting for my appointment. No-one dares to ignore me.Either you must be out of your mind or-else you must be deaf and dumb."saying so, he went back to his post and continued watching the person.


The monk at the shrine,who had been noticing all this,summoned the man and asked him,"What do you think of the person outside the shrine now?"


"I still feel he is a total waste and such lazy people should not be encouraged",said the man.

'Silence is golden'

Now, the monk said,"He is the chief priest of the shrine.
He teaches people about the importance of silence.


I have been watching your activities from the morning.You have called me a 'stupid'.
You have called our teacher  'a total waste',lazy man','mad man' and what not.


All this harsh and impulsive behavior has earned you no goodness or peace.
So, follow the path of silence whenever you can and you will be closer to God everyday.


Realizing his folly, he asked for forgiveness from the monk and the chief priest and set out on his way.


He was a changed man now.


All his ego had melted away and he decided to talk only when it is absolutely necessary.

'Passionately yours'

I love you
but,how to tell you?
I thought I will pen it
but, how to begin it?

Mmmmm...Mmmmm...

You're a lovely rose,
but,don't roses wither away?
You're face is a bright sunflower,
but,don't they turn away?

I don't like these flowers,
they are not charming as you.
They don't have characters,
that always adorn you.

Then what shall I write,
to describe you?
Whatever I write,
it does not equal you.

So, I made a decision,
of meeting you.
To tell you the passion
and pain of loving you.

Will you my dearest of dear,
adorn my love for you?
Or will you like the roses,
prick the hand that admires you?

Short story-'Working deliveries'

Rabi and Sanya were a working couple.They were holding good positions in their respective offices.They not only cherished the monetary benefit that it brought them but, also the power and respect it gave them.


Everything seemed fine till sanya got pregnant.It was an unexpected pregnancy and sanya did not want to have the child.


Both rabi and sanya's parents promised to help them in bringing up the child.Though, half-heartedly, Sanya agreed to have the kid , she was concerned about her career .She managed to attend office till the due date.Finally, she delivered the baby.


It was a baby boy and they named him Kalil.


Sanya was back to office once her maternity holidays were over and Kalil was handed over to Sanya's parents.

Kalil grew up with his parents' parents-sometimes Sanya's sometimes Rabi's.Though Kalil was not lonely,he always missed his parents.But, his parents were very busy with their careers and were left with no energy for him in the evenings.


Days rolled by and Kalil grew up .


Rabi and Sanya had always bought him the finest of toys and clothes.He studied in the best school in town.
So, as usual they admitted him into one of the finest colleges.


By the time Kalil finished college, his grandparents had passed away one after the other.


It was time for Rabi's retirment too.He thought,"I can relax now,after all the years of toiling."


But, we cannot decide our fate.


Kalil fell in love with a girl named Banu,in college, and soon they got married.


Both Kalil and Banu were top ranking students so, they were selected into prime companies for employment.Their offices were close to each other,so Kalil dropped her at office everyday.


By this time,Sanya had retired from service.She was at home and so, she took it upon herself to run the house.Rabi also pitched in,now and then, to help her.


One night when Rabi and Sanya were alone,Rabi asked,"What about our world trip plans?We have retired,our son earns well and we have a sound finance now.Why don't we talk about this to Kalil?"


To this Sanya retorted,"How can we go?Both of them go for jobs and we are left to do all the care- taking of the house.Sometimes, I think we should move out and stay alone.Then we can go ahead with all our plans."


Meanwhile,Banu became pregnant and she delivered a beautiful baby girl on the due date .Three months flew away so fast and again it was time for Banu to join office.


Sanya and Rabi were more worried than happy,about their grand-daughter.


 Sanya told Rabi," If Banu joins office, bringing up the child will become our responsibility.We are weak now and taking care of an infant calls for lot of work.I am scared that Kalil will expect us to help them grow the child."Saying so, Sanya began to cry.


Rabi was scared too but, they were defenceless against their son.They had left him with Sanya's parents when he was just an infant.Sanya or Rabi had not shown interest in playing or talking to Kalil.


They were more into driving their careers up the charts and had not bothered about their relationship with their son, which was going down the drain.


With these thoughts Sanya and Rabi went to sleep.


It was the next day and all of them were having their breakfast.
Kalil began to speak."Mom and Dad,we wanted to tell you both about a decision we have taken."


Just as Kalil said this, all the thoughts of the previous night rushed through the minds of Sanya and Rabi.


Kalil continued,"Banu and I think it is more important that she takes care of the child, than earn money, at this juncture. If she joins office now,she will have to sacrifice all her precious time with the child.
I don't want my child to suffer like how I did.I missed dad and you in all the confusing and difficult stages as a child.


                         Secondly,dad and you are old now.You sometimes find it difficult to manage the household.We don't want to burden you additionally by asking you both to attend to our child.
I have seen how many difficulties my grandparents went through to take care of me. I don't want you to suffer in the same way."


Sanya and Rabi felt very guilty for having been very selfish in their life and for having been indifferent to the hardships of their parents and of Kalil.They realized their mistake ,when they are at the same threshold of life as their parents had been, years back.


They were very proud of their son for being sensitive of their plight.But, they cannot give back all the yester years in his life ,which he has lost,missing them.


But, they can surely do something and thats what they did.
They decided to stall all plans for their world trip.


They will stay with Kalil and his family and give them all the time and support that they had missed to give him before.


Medical note:

 According to developmental neurology(a science that studies the growth of a child), a mother should  take care of her child till it is 5 years old or atleast till it is 3 years old.This helps to give a strong physical and mental basis for the child for the rest of its life.It will also give a strong bonding between the mother and child.


The emotional component of a child is as important as its body.So,spending time to help the child grow emotionally is equally important spending time to help him grow physically. It is not very difficult-just listen to the child and believe in him.

Sorry! Mother

Splashing down the window pane

and lashing down memory's lane.

A powerful force of nature's.

It nurtures and tortures.

It cradles great seas and oceans,

It nourishes expanses of amazons

But,when its pouring out its wrath?

What a devastating aftermath?

What was the anger?

The sounds of cries,to this day,linger.

Creating nightmares ,leaving

child-folk sparsely with teddy bears.

Making lonely souls and empty bowls.

Why mother nature,you are punishing us?

When we reach out ,will you forgive us?

You have now pushed us to the brink ,

We have no option, but to think.

What salvaging we can do?

For forgiveness we ask-'would you'?

Oedipus and Electra

I went for a stroll in the park.There I eavesdropped on a conversation between three friends.

Sorry ,but the topic was scandalous!This is what I heard:

"Oedipus and electra?
Who are they?
Lovers?
Brother and sister?"asked 'A' in total curiosity.

"Well, all you said are almost right"said 'C'

How can that be?lovers and siblings?any new sex club?asked 'B'

'C' was already laughing heartily hearing 'A' and 'B' guessing.
He could hear no more.
"Come on guys,give me a break.These are names of a boy and a girl, from ancient Greece."

'A' was intrigued,"from when have you started relishing history books?I thought you were into medicine."

'A' said ,"This is science.Now, listen:

Oedipus is the name of a boy who, according to Greek mythology, unknowingly killed his father and married his mother. "

A real freak,said 'B'.

"According to science, each young boy in his adolescence, symbolically relives the Oedipus drama. He has cravings for his mother and views his father as a hated rival."

"Hey,don't say that. I love my parents." intruded 'A'

"Yes,your are right. But , all these feelings occur because of certain necessary chemicals in our body called hormones."

"So, the hormone guy is the villain?"said 'A'.It gave him some relief.

"Even though the father is considered a rival, the boy also fears his father , as a result he represses his sexual desire for his mother .Eventually if all goes well, the boy identifies with the father and comes to have harmless affection for the mother."

Both 'A' and 'B' let out a big sigh of relief.

'B' was quick to ask,"Does all this happen to only we boys?Do girls go scott-free?"

"No.The Electra complex is the female counterpart. It is based on the view that each girl wants to possess her father and replace her mother."

"Real bitches!"they sang in chorus.

Felt like seeing an aborigine movie.I could not hear anymore.I was sweating profusely.so, I left the place silently.

There is so much I have to know about my body,I thought.

Go to think of it, like 'C' said ,this is a normal growing process.It happens to all, knowingly or unknowingly ,in different degrees.

It happens mainly in a person's adolescence but, it may extend beyond that phase ,for a few.So, a bit of caution has to be applied.

My God!They don't say adolescence is a difficult period for nothing.

Thank goodness, I have grown up now.

An unforgettable experience

There are so many delicacies in a lifetime .Not of food for the stomach, but for the mind.

We have to just keep our hearts open, to find them.

Here is one such incident that teaches us the value of life and of timely help ,all at once.

A few years ago, my friend Sheela was traveling on a national highway,with her husband and child back from their vacation spot.She was on a taxi with three other co-passengers.

Sheela and her son were sitting on the front seat next to the driver.When the taxi had travelled half the way to its destination, an old lady and her daughter from the back seat ,wanted to swap seats with my friend and her son.

Sheela accepted and allowed them to occupy the seats.

The taxi would have travelled only a few kilometers with this new seating arrangement, when suddenly from nowhere a lorry came speeding towards them.The situation was out of control and the lorry stopped only when it slid over the taxi , crushing the front half of it.

Sheela had been unconscious for quite sometime.When she regained consciousness,she came to know that the old lady ,her daughter and the driver were crushed under the weight of the lorry.

the four of them in the backseat had survived the accident,but with serious injuries.

the middle-aged man next to her in the backseat , had succumbed to the injuries on his way to the hospital.

Sheela, her husband and son underwent many surgeries before they could be back on their feet.They took many months to resume normal living.

the highlight of the incident is that ,when they regained consciousness, their attending doctor,
told them that they have survived the accident because they were brought to hospital on time for treatment.

One other taxi driver who was on the same road,had stopped to help.Having seen them bleeding and semi-conscious ,he had called for an ambulance immediately.he had travelled with them to the hospital ,waited there till the hospital authorities could give them first aid .

he then left ,not leaving behind his phone number, address or even name .

To this day,my friend and her family thank this unknown good samaritan, for their lives.

Thank you, wherever you are brother.