He was happy for a lot of reasons, but two things primarily – one was that he had achieved whatever he had set out to do in life.. and the other was that the governing body had given the go ahead for his final act.. he had been sure he would get the approval while he had given the application, but then, governing bodies were a strange lot..
the approval was a two stage process, the first step was a basic application indicating the profile of the person giving it.. the governing body would decide whether the person could still perform an active role in society, and if he/she could, try to convince the person to do it, but that was just a formality… the second step was when one had to give the time and procedure chosen..the authority would then notify the next of kin, and put up a notice seeking whether anyone had an objection ..the objection, if any, and the right of the person objecting would both be scrutinised by the authorities before giving the final approval.. again, this step was also a formality since the applicant would have already announced his decision to the people concerned (who could object)..
a few days back, he had just gotten the final approval from the governing body for what was known as ‘euthanasia’.legal killing was what the critics called it.. but after decades of legal wrangling, the majority had voted for it… in fact, they even made a procedure for people who were not in a position to request it themselves… the majority considered it a part of the society maturing, but there were people who still believed that He should be allowed to do His work…
but today was the day he had chosen for his final act… he had decided for it, when his wife had had a natural death a few years back and he had become alone, since their kids lived elsewhere and rarely had time for him.. stereotypical, he thought…
he had just had dinner at his favourite restaurant, and was on his way to the hospital where he would get his final injection.. he was still thinking deeply about whether he had left anything incomplete, since there would be no coming back…and that was why he saw the truck too late… his last thoughts were, “so long as i die..”

until next time, lets propose, and let Him dispose…

Today he would know whether he would get one. the credit card company’s executive had just called and asked for an appointment… he had been wanting one ever since he had seen sachin showing off his in the ad, while encouraging others to get it… but he couldn’t apply for it then, being busy with his career…and later, just when he thought he would apply for one, he had gotten busy again, with things ranging from work and peer pressure to riots….
not that he needed it desperately, for his influence was huge, but it was helpful when you were going abroad, and was much better than carrying cash… he had applied for the latest card in the market, the one named after the famous island in new york.. it was only appropriate since he would be going there shortly..
he had known that all the applications were just a formality, for once they got to know who he was, they would only be too happy to give him a card…just then, the executive came, but contrary to his expectations they had rejected his application.. he was irate and screamed at the executive , “do you know who i am?”
” yes sir, but theres nothing we can do here. since it was top priority we had sent it to our hq in the US. we had hoped to get you some special benefits, but they have rejected it. i am yet to get the details”, the executive mumbled.
he wondered at the audacity of the company… how could they not give the visa power to the chief minister of a state whose diaspora had significant influence among not only the Indians, but the general populace in the US? where would the US be without us, he thought..
he controlled himself with an effort. he would get a card from the other company, the one that said ‘there are some things money can buy, for everything else, there’s……..” for his situation, it was only apt…but he wouldn’t stop at that.. he decided he would go the US, to the credit card company’s hq and give them a piece of his mind…. the bank, he would deal with, later!!
he called his PA.
“call the US embassy. ask them the status of the gujarat chief minster’s visa application”
until next time, who has the power?

She knew she had very little time.. his birthday was only a few days away… his birthdays had never been celebrated grandly.. he had never asked for it, and no one had ever felt the need… considering that the only thing he spent money on were books and cassettes,he was never difficult to please if his birthday presents were any of the above… except for the occasional games or toys, much like his life, the presents he got were also routine, not that he was complaining… he was, well, like that…
but this time, she wanted it to be different, it was his 15th birthday, the one after his tenth standard board exams had got over, the first big hurdle in life… and she wanted him to celebrate it in a slightly better fashion than they usually did… and the first and perhaps only difficult task was convincing him.. because, although she was very strict about everything he did, lately she had understood he was growing up, and increasingly left his things to his judgement.. well, she was his mother, and knew what was best for him..
besides, she knew things he didnt..convincing him was difficult, for he was a shy child, with a handful of close friends, and ran away from attention of any kind, except for the ones which his extra curricular activities demanded.. for she was still very strict about that… and so he was trained in classical music, played in the cricket team,and was a member of the school quiz and debating teams… all of which he liked in a very matter-of-fact way…
all said, he was a very reluctant social animal…but she wouldn’t have any of that.. with 2 days left, she forced him to accept the fact that he would have to invite at least 10 of his friends to celebrate his birthday.. the only thing which he could decide was the place…and so it was, that for the very first time he could remember, he was doing something more complicated than distributing sweets for his birthday..
but after all was said and done, he was happy, and grudgingly thanked her… and she in turn, thanked her god, for she had survived the day…but he doesnt like celebrating birthdays, because she died 9 days later..
until next time, some things arent forever…

She alighted at the station and had her first good look at Mumbai.. the place where her silverscreen dreams would take shape.Although hers was a stereotypical story of a small town girl dreaming of making it big in Bollywood, she was sure that hers would be a success story, because she was sure of her talents…. and assets.. and she had a definite plan…
she had taken up all the courses in fashion, modelling and acting that her small town could offer… and her small town already boasted of a precedent in making it big in bollywood.. but she was sure she wanted to make it on her own.. and not take her predecessor’s help.. but her predecessor had given her one crucial info that was essential to her plan- the casting couch, its existence and the way it worked, and the ‘contact’ persons… she had her parents’ approval on her bollywood dreams, but even to them, she had not revealed her plan…
She called a taxi, and asked the driver to take her to the 5 star hotel where she had booked a room….. not that she had the money to spare, but this was crucial to the plan… she checked into the room, and thought about reading the paper, since it was almost 3 days since she had read them… always important to keep oneself updated about bollywood.. but she decided to do that after she kicked off her plan….
she started calling up the contact persons, and got her first shock, for the responses ranged from ‘do you think i am dumb?’ to ‘which channel are you calling from ‘ to plain abuse… she wondered what was going on and decided to take a shower before proceeding…
to jail!! the cops barged into the room, minutes after her phone calls, and arrested her for trying to trap people.. they talked something about an established villain having been ‘exposed’ a couple of days back on a news channel…. she said she didnt know a thing about it… and was only a wannabe actress.. she was so afraid she even told them about her plan- to use the casting couch- where she wouldnt struggle (and therefore could bypass the ‘struggling actress’ phase)..
but they werent convinced…. she reckoned she knew who her enemies were – a nexus of actresses who didnt want competition and news channels who wanted TRPs….. she also realised that what she needed now was shakti, tan ki nahi, par man ki….
until next time, news channels cant help broadcasting and filmmakers cant help casting…