I'll be there for you!

Once upon a time, there lived a wolf, a deer and a kangaroo. The three were great friends. Their lives were juxtaposed into each other despite their varied food preferences. All the 3 got pregnant and gave birth to beautiful babies. And they were wonderful mothers; sacrificing food, sleep and comforts to take care of their offspring. Baby wolf, baby deer, and baby kangaroo played together, ate together and were inseparable. But one day, it was a time of great drought and famine. Hungry, tired and helpless, the three mothers and their children traveled across the jungle for food and water. The vast horizon stretched for miles and miles, but there was no sign of food or water.

As the setting sun spawned the dusk, the animals, completely spent by now, were almost certain that they would die. They talked about spending their last moments together. About their wonderful times together. But just as their death was beginning to look inevitable, a mighty beam of light tore the skies and hit the forest floor. The impact resulted in the formation of a huge chasm. Quite stunned by this supernatural phenomenon, the animals paced towards the hole from the sky. As they stood there gazing at the infinite depths of oblivion, a heavenly voice began it's sermon. “Because you three animals have been very noble and united, I shall give you a chance to live. Beneath this forest, there is a treasure chest that transgresses Elysium. There you shall find all the food and water you require to sustain your lives..."

Delighted, they were about to enter the pit when the voice interrupted: “...on one condition... Only one of you may enter the pit and bring back food for the rest. So choose well..." After a lot of discussion, the baby kangaroo decided to enter the pit. They others waited eagerly for their share of life. It had been a few minutes, but the kangaroo wouldn't send back any food. Wondering what the problem was, the animals looked down the pit to see the kangaroo eating all the food in the chest. “Hey what are you doing?! Give some of that to us, will you?!", they screamed with anguish. The baby kangaroo's reply restored my faith in F.R.I.E.N.D.S... “Joey doesn't share food!"

Troll Week

Hello, one and all! I am currently doing a practical course in the field of Regenerative Medicine at the Rehabilitationsklinikum, Ulm. I work with cartilage and stuff. Anyway, Fridays are good days, and hence I will now post a collection of troll incidents that have taken place during this week at my lab. Featuring me, Anup Vasudev and my supervisor, Jana (pronounced as Yana). Here goes:

#1: Monday (6th July, 2015)

Me (looking at the bottles in the lab): "Hey Jana, what does "MeOH" mean?"
Jana: "What cats do."
Me: "Excuse me?"
Jana: "Hahahahahahahahah! Kidding. Methanol, Anup."


#2: Tuesday (7th July, 2015)

Jana: "This is the Annexin Stain. You are not to leave it open, it will not be chemically stable for a long time at Room Temperature."
Me: "What causes the Annexin to lose stability?
Jana: "Some chemical bond breakage I guess."
Me: "Which bonds?"
Jana: "Just use it fast. It's very costly.


#3: Wednesday (8th July, 2015)

Me: "Where should I store the RNA, Jana?"
Jana: "At the -80 degrees Celsius freezer. It's outside the lab."
Me: "Why there?"
Jana: "Because it's very, very cold."

#4: Thursday (9th July, 2015): Tables turn, suckers!
Me (during the coffee break): "Hey Jana, what are your plans for the future?"
Jana: "Post doc maybe.. I am not sure. What will you do after this?"
Me: "Go home, have a bath."

#5: Friday (10th July, 2015)
Me: "Hey I have a little work with cell culture, can I take your place at..."
Jana: "No, I have worked very hard to get here. Hahahahahahaha!"
Me: "I meant at the... never mind..."

FULL TIME: JANA WINS 4 - 1

Lonely

Once upon a time, there lived a short girl. Solitude was her only companion. She could never figure out why people avoided her. She once decided to go out for a walk on a very cold, snowy day. She wore her favorite sweater, jeans and a pair of nice, furry boots. She headed straight towards an orchard filled with fruit trees. Distraught about her loneliness, she wanted to contemplate about her life and lack of company. While all the trees were covered in snow, she spotted one tree: greener than the rest; symbolizing life and hope. It was an Apple Tree.

She smiled to herself. She approached the tree and felt like there was a subtle need to make contact. She did. "Speak to me, O tree! I have no friends." There came no reply. Angry and disgusted, she kicked the tree. Tears came streaming down her face. "Why am I so lonely?!" But Mother Nature was very kind. She gave her a sign. A couple of apples fell to her feet. She was delighted! "Oh thank you, sweet tree. I am indebted to you for your kindness." The tree replied: "Shawty had them Apple Bottom Jeans [Jeans], Boots with the fur [With the fur]."

Never mess with Mother Nature. Never.

A Good Hair Day

Earphones plugged in; I boarded the bus and headed back home. Just had to tie my hair up into a pony tail today. Looking out of the window; I was enjoying the magic the music was weaving into my soul when I felt a gentle tug on my pony; a slight pull. I turned to see what was it that had dared to touch my beautiful locks. What I saw surprised me. It was a cute little girl; maybe 5 or 6 years old. She looked at me and gave me the widest smile anyone's ever given me. Her innocence was pure as anything could possibly be. How could I not reply back with a smile? As the little child continued playing with my hair, her mother smiled at me and said: “Warum müssen Sie lange Haare haben?" (Why must you have long hair?) I chuckled: “Denn ich liebe es!" (Because I love it!) She said to me: “Nein, nein, bitte schneiden Sie Ihr Haar!" (No, no.. Please cut your hair). The little girl was observant of our conversation. Visibly upset by her mother's request, she was prompt with her reply: “Nein Ma, es ist wunderbar!" (No Mother, it is wonderful!). I was touched by the little girl's words. “Ich werde nicht meine Haare schneiden!", (I will not cut my hair!) I said to her.

She patted me on the head like I was her pet dog, held her mother's hand and got down. As the bus moved farther away, I was left with an image of her smile: wider than before, and a loud “Tschuss!" (Bye). I waved gleefully; hoping that I would see the little angel again; the little angel who bore a staunch testament to the fact that mutual respect and kindness are omnipresent. They are the laws of Nature that all living creatures are born compliant to. But mankind defies these laws to create and perpetrate hatred and racism, unbeknownst to the fact that these will destroy their creators with far lesser effort than what their creation necessitated.

Teach me how to love again.

It was 1:35 am, but sleep had lost it's way back home. I held her in my arms. I knew this was it. Her time was up. Her eyes wanted me to leave, so I didn't have to go through the pain of losing her. I begged myself to stay. I promised I would go through this despite the anguish and agony. I didn't want to lose her; but neither did I want to lose as much as a second to the regret of not spending time with my beloved. I kissed her. She wanted me to love again. She wanted me to fill this void with someone else; which I deemed a fallacy by all means; for I knew that could never happen. Emotional precipitations abound, as she lay motionless; her life finally slipped away. Now to find a way to expedite the process of moving on. What I had; what I lost was someone to whom love was not a part of life, but life itself.

Its been 4 years. There hasn't been a day that I haven't thought of her. As much as I hate to admit this, but yes.. I have cried myself to sleep at times. I made credible attempts to forget our times together, but unbeknownst to myself, I had her in my mind. Are memories supposed to hurt or heal wounds? And finally, I saw someone like her. The resemblance was striking! Same hair and all. Irate; I wanted to look away. It began to hurt like it did that night. I didn't want to breathe for the fear of choking on her demise all over again. Scars are as important as healed wounds, remember? That's what she taught me. Why should I stand in my own way? I didn't want to disobey her anymore. Her epiphany was my drop of water; one that every dormant seed needs to break it's shackles of brown and germinate into a beautiful green. I smiled.

For the first time since her dying eyes asked me to move on, I had thoughts about making peace with impending change; with myself. My instincts told me she was watching, just like she patiently has for years; lying in wait to see me love again. I asked myself: Was she the one? Have I moved on? Have I learnt to love again? And then, she gave me a sign that was a big yes to all my questions; she wagged her tail...

Lily

It was an incredibly rainy and chilly night. I kept rubbing my hands together and tried my best to avoid the little bullets fired by the rain gods. Finally, I found a little shed. Placing my bag on the floor, I checked my cell phone: Battery about to die. I sighed deeply. Could this day get any lonelier? Hold that thought. A dark figure approached. Footsteps accompanied by the sweet sound of anklets. Moments later, I saw the most beautiful girl humanity could ever lay eyes on. My face instantaneously broke into a wide smile. She smiled back.
“Hi!", I said. “Don't you think we should go someplace drier? The nip in the air is killing me." When was the last time I heard English being spoken better?! Like a fool short of words, I said “We?" “You're not from around here, are you?" “Yes I am; just returned from a day at work. Missed my bus." “Everyone calls me Lily. You haven't heard of me?" “Uhh.. no." “My business doesn't necessitate introductions, you see.." “Care for some bhajiyas and hot chai?" “Are you asking me out on a rainy date?!" Blood red with embarrassment. We went to a little hotel nearby. Everyone at the hotel stared at us like we were from Jupiter. “Lily is a beautiful name. Your English is fantastic. How did..." “Spare me the routine", she interrupted. Taking a little sip with those luscious lips, she said "I was Lalita once. An English professor at the MH College of Arts. My husband and his friends raped me one night. I sought refuge in a women's shelter, where the owner raped me and sold me to a brothel. Long story short, I could give you a discount for tonight. And isn't the chai wonderful?"

It stopped raining. Only outside. My eyes were in a turmoil of emotions. The hotel owner was pleased with the amount of food and chai we were ordering. We talked for hours. I couldn't help but notice how free her spirit was. She was ethereally pure! Smashing the beautiful silence was the honking of a car. It was my friend. He got into the hotel. “Whoa.. you are one lucky dude.. But why are you paying for her food? Are you in love with her or something?", he joked. Pat came my reply. “Yes..." The other kind of silence: the eerie one. “You are in love with a whore?" “Yes. And I don't even deserve her, do I?" Ahh that awkward silence! We walked away from her. And those anklets sounded again. I turned around and she was right behind me. She placed her palm on my left cheek and kissed me on the right. “I should've married you..."