Winner takes it all

His “Spidey” sense was working overtime today. “Killer Instincts" was what his friends called him.

Taking one last look at his work, He stepped on the gas and hit the road. His work there was done.

The D day had arrived. The clash of the titans for the coveted NPower football championship. The Red Giants were to take on The Royal Blues in an epic final.

Jose, the Reds coach was with his team. He was taking them through the pre-match warm up and practice. He'd noticed that the team was quite nervous. He signaled his team to round up.

"Guys, I want you All to give your 100% while playing today. I know each one of you is a bit nervous on how to tackle Micheal’s goal scoring streak. But remember, if we stick to our style of play, we can literally reduce them to shreds. I believe in each one of you, question is, DO YOU?" Jose could sense that the team looked upbeat and ready.

Just then Thomas called him on his cell. "My Office, Now!!!”. Thomas was the director of The Red Giants Football Club and also was a footballer himself

Jose knocked "May I come in"...

"Oh cut the crap old man... Come on in and sit" Thomas exclaimed.

Jose wondered what was so important just 10 minutes to the game. But all he could manage was a smile.

"So, the lads ready for the game eh?" Thomas asked.

"Of course, the preps have been fantastic. I am confident about the team." Jose spoke.

"And, you have made any special arrangement for handling Michael" Thomas winked. 

"What, No No. No special plans. Our gameplay is our strength you know that Thomas" Jose remarked.

"To hell with your game play Jose. I know Michael won’t be playing today for the Blues.They say he met with a freak accident yesterday night and fractured his toe. Now all of us know that without Michael, their team doesn’t have a chance."

"Oh yes sir, but they also do have other players!!!" and Jose sarcastically spoke while smiling devilishly.

Thomas rose from his desk, went towards Jose's chair and putting his hand on Jose's shoulder, 

"Well played boy. You, my man, are the Man of the Match today. You almost single handedly won Reds the match"

"Actually I use both my hands while driving Thomas" Jose remarked and both shared a laugh.

"By the way, did you wipe the blood off your car" Thomas enquired.

"Not a trace" Jose rose from his chair and waved goodbye, while he could hear the sound of the fans cheering Reds 2nd goal in 10 minutes.

-Shraviii

Deceptions

Akmal just kept starring at John... Their lives were so different. Yet as fate would have it, both lived under the same roof...
"U both are such Contrasting personalities", their landlord would exclaim whenever he saw John.. look at Akmal beta. So calm and composed. U on the other hand, Hopeless.

But Akmal envied john... "Such a carefree bandha he is... Look at me...
A terrorist jihadi, sent to kill people"

Akmal was slowly starting to feel love within him unto others. A year back he had so much hatred filled inside that he wanted to kill anyone in sight...
But now he wanted to live. He could not confess to anyone about his background or motive. Not even to John. For he feared repercussions.

He always kept to himself. "Not a single extra word to be uttered" were his precise orders from across the border. And he was living in Mumbai under the disguise of a Engineering Aspirant from Kolkata who was scheduled to give his entrance exams..

John also was an aspirant but he seldom cared to study.. he enjoyed his life to the fullest, but through his own simple means. He loved music and Football and always would take Akmal to watch him play..

Such was the camaraderie which got built in a matter of 7 months that both became dependant and more importantly, Akmal had changed.

One day while listening to a Lucky Ali song "Anjaane raho mein" a tear came out of Akmal's eye and he broke down in front of John... He narated his entire past...

"I wanna leave this Jihad" Akmal exclaimed when,

Bang Bang Bang...

3 bullet shots were fired.
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"Saalaa insaan banne chala tha ye akmal kaminaa. Kya training de rahe jo tum log waha pe. Abhi 4 aur ko bhej do.Aur yaad rahe, mere baare mein kuch nahi bataanaa. Parakhna mera kaam hai"
Rehman disconnected his satellite phone. Ever since his plastic surgery in Pakistan, he looked atleast 5years younger...

"John" he smirked "What a funny name I've got"

-Shraviii

Swades

Param waited patiently at the local municipality office with his son and his father for his turn. "Aaj ye flood relief ka kaam khatam karke hi jaataa hun" he mumbled.

Their town had witnessed heavy flooding recently due to a nearby dam overflowing.  He himself was quite well to do and had no interest in the flood relief which the state had declared for the residents.

"Areeee aur kitna time lagegaa sahib.Hum garibon ke pet mein laath mat maariye janaab. Poori kheti beh gayi hai aur ghar mein ek daanaa anaaj nahi bacha"
Param's attention immediately turned towards the commotion at a officer's desk nearby.

"Abbe Oye bhikari ki aulaad" The govt officer exclaimed "Jyaadaa shaanaa banega na toh saale nakli entry karke tere hisse ka anaaj aur paisa main le loonga. Jyaadaa hoshiyari na kar."

Just then as Param returned to his own file, He heard a thundering slap...

Sataaaaaaak...

The next moment though, the officer was on the ground while the farmer who slapped him stood there fuming furiously. Param immediately left the place..

On the way back in his car, he exclaimed to his son "Bade hokar tum aise kabhi ni karoge, Samjhe... Ye kisi sarkaari naukar ko maarna fully galat baat hai. Yaar kuch rishwat de diya toh kya ho jata.. ISS DESH KA KUCH NAHI HO SAKTA"

His father who was listening patiently interupted..
"Param, the last statement u made did hurt me a bit.
Tht poor farmer had nothing to fall back on. Only the govt money which he is rightfully supposed to get.. In a way, he stood up for his rights..For in his mind, tht was the only hope which remained."

When I was in the freedom movement I always had the option to choose... Either peaceful means or revolutionary methods... But all were directed in one direction... A Ray of Hope... Independence to my nation... Though our methods were completely world apart, at no point did we even think ki iss desh ka kuch nahi ho sakta...

"Badlaav aayegaa, aur tum hi ye badlaav laoge.. mujhe yakin hai"

Param smiled...It had been 15 years since that incident in the year 2013.

And his dad was as always Right... The change had indeed arrived... Though through tough choices... Neverthless....

-Shraviii

Truth the leveller

"Aaj kitno ko chuna lagaaya bhai. Bag toh badaa bhaari lag raa hai" Chamanlaal exclaimed when they met in their so called office...
"3 laalchi business wale, aur ek churan faayde ka sauda. Fir kya, Loot liya.. Poore 20 lakh.. Haraami kitne laalchi hain re ye sheher wale. Apnon ko bech denge faayde ke liye" Raj exclaimed.
"Toh tu kaunsaa doodh ka dhula hai bey" Chaman added, while they both shared a laugh.

 

He had been working with Sundaram Chit Funds for the past 1 year. Raj knew that the business was a sheer scam. But he got a big cut, so he enjoyed duping people

   Yet, that day was so different. He just entered his cabin when he saw a form on the table. 

He just lifted to see the form and froze in horror with what he saw...

Name:Smt.Nirmala Devi. The photo confirmed it all... His mother's form had been filled in... She was just duped by a scamster in his own office. His world fell apart... His conscience pricked...

 He could not believe what had happened. Anger steadily started rising within him....

"Aaarrrrrgh' he shouted on top of his voice while throwing the vase kept on the table on the mirror on the wall... His anger was so intense that he wanted to beat up every single person in his office who was a part of the scam...

But somehow his legs just gave up and he sat down in his chair nearby. Tears which had evaded him till date started trickling down his face... He sobbed uncontrollably...

 He wanted to talk to her... but what would he say. "Aapka beta chor hai Maa" he spoke to himself..

 He lifted his mom's application and the cash and kept it in his bag... He reached home and there she was waiting for him with a smiling face...

  He ran and hugged her and started to cry loudly... His mother, though shocked initially at his reaction, calmed him down... She sat down on the floor while Raj rested his head on her lap..

He narrated the entire incident to her while she grew more shocked at the incidents which he narrated. "Main bahut bura insaan hun maa"

"Listen beta", she spoke calmly as though she had everything planned in her mind.

"When u started working for this scamsters, you knew what you were doing. 

Being quite well educated,You always had a choice naa.. To choose between what is right and wrong. It is the path which we take which makes us who we are.. 
Just because your mother got duped today, it pricked ur conscience and hurt you badly. Just imagine what would be going through the people whom you've looted all this while. Unke bhi toh Maa, Pitaji, Biwi bachhe honge naa. Kya pataa ab woh kis haal mein honge."

 "Now I'll not say much further, but you know what you should do. I trust you on that". She got up and went into her room...

That moment, Raj got up, and left his house... he reached the street and called out his usual rickshaw wala frnd.. He knew what he had to do...

"Oye Birju, Chal Ramnagar Police Station"...

"Kyu bhai kuch jhol hua kya" asked Birju....

"Haan, Jhol hua...Par ab se nahi hoga.. Aaj surrender karunga khudko... nayi shuruwaat hai ye" Raj said while he climbed into the auto.

He knew he had made the correct choice this time

-Shravii

Micro Fiction: Ego: I won right???

The meter read Rs.27.00.
Akash gave 3 10Rupees notes to the rickshaw walah and waited for his change...
"Chutta nahi hai... 7 rupya khulla do" sandesh the rickshaw wallah said.

"Nahi hai matlab kya yaar. Poora din toh sawaari kiya naa.. kaise nahi hai chutta. Check kar, zarur hoga tere paas".
Sandesh outraged said "Ab tu decide karega ki mere pocket mein kitna chutta hai saale".

"Abbe saala kisko bola bey. Jyaadaa udtaa hai kya. Rukh teri main bajaataa hun". He called up om the RTO helpline and within 5 minutes the local Beat Marshall came to the spot.

Sensing trouble Sandesh apologised to the RTO Marshall and Akash and paid the 3 rupees change. Yes.. he had 3 rupees change all the time.

Next day while akash was crossing the road to catch his usual rick to office,
A carrier van which rammed into him and he died on the spot...
The van did not stop and nobody even noticed the number of the vehicle.

Vikas the van driver told sandesh "Saale kutte, 3 rupye ke liye ye tune kya karwaaya merese!!!!
Jaan le li ek bandhe ki sirf 3 rupya chutte ke liye".

"Saalaa mereko pulice mein pakdaane wala tha... abhi pahucha diya upar seedha. End mein apun jeet gaya na???"

Vikas just nodded his head in disbelief.

-Shraviii

Winning is everything????

"Oye Veeru" Jay Mehra yelled thru the intercom... "Takle ne bulaya hai..Jaldi aa jaa"
"Thik hai tum jaanaa, main piche aataa" Veeru mumbled in his broken hindi...

Veerabhadra Mudaliar had been working with Royal Valves for almost 10years in their Madurai office and yet, he could not grasp hindi at all.. He always ended up putting in bits and pieces together.

Back in their boss Anand Takloo Gupta's cabin, both Veeru and Jay presented their ideas to him on a deal which both were working to grab .
"Jay...tera idea achha hai Satyam pumps ke liye. ye client ko tu hi deal kar aage se" Anand exclaimed...
"But Anand, Ye idea nahi kaam karna Madurai mein. Main tamil log ko achhe se jaantaa" exclaimed Veeru.

"NO VEERABHADRA, u will not interfere in this project anymore..IS THAT CLEAR???" Takloo exclaimed in a rather high pitch. "Ok Anand" Veeru tamely sighed and left the cabin..

Veeru was Very Upset. Being the top most performer year after year and getting all biggies as clients into this company, he thought he shud have got the 1st preference.
"Bloody Northy Donkey" he mumbled under his breath while Jay came up to him to talk...

"Takle ke saamne bhadaktaa kyu hai tu.. thik hai ek hi toh client gaya..tere inne saare aur bhi toh hain.. chill maar oye" Jay said and went into his own cabin.

He immediately called up his best friend, his dad..
"Appa... help" he exclaimed and narrated the whole incident..
His dad exclaimed "Dont worry kanna, God is great". And he hung up.

Jay had informed Anand that the client had asked for a month's time to get back on the deal, since the deal value ran into crores...

After a month, Jay called the accountant of Satyam Pumps, but his landline was not working anymore...
Feeling something amiss, He immediately reported it to Anand..

Anand fortunately had the owner's mobile number, just in case if a call was to be made...
He called him up immediately..
"Hello Satyam Ramamurthy sir, How r u doing. This side Anand Gupta from Royal valves. What happened Sir, we were supposed to close the deal"

"Gupta, which world are you living in...
I sold my company 10days back and now I am a independent director in it...
Seriously, try to keep a closer tab on ur clients" Exclaimed Satyam.

"Ohhh!!!!! Is tht so.. I was not aware of this development" sighed Anand. Sweat had started forming on his forehead due to the News which he heard later...
He realised there was a bigger game being played out there.

He immediately hung up, and summoned both Jay and Veeru immediately...

"Jay, I am taking you out of the Pumps deal. They specifically want a Tamil speaking person only to deal with them".
"So Veeru kal se tum handle kar lena unko"

"Lekin boss what happened suddenly with Satyam Pumps. Till last month they were ok with me handling them." Jay exclaimed

BECAUSE IT WAS SATYAM PUMPS TILL LAST WEEK.
Its now MUDALIAR PUMPS and they specifically want Veerabhadra to handle their account....

Jay realised what had just happened and left the cabin quietly and was walking towards his,  when Veeru smirked at him and said "I ALWAYS WIN BUDDY...Veerabhadra Mudaliar ALWAYS HAS THE LAST LAUGH"

-Shraviii

Her World

She's always kept to her own self.. Her 3 children meant the world to her...
For, in her eyes, it was a cruel, ugly and cold world outside,and the only thing she was worried about was protecting her little ones from it. They called the small structure their home and were quite happy.

Yet the sight of Ramlal approaching towards her got her worried. It brought back her old memories.
He'd killed all of her kin and yet nothing ever happened to him. It was as if she'd lost her voice.No one heard her.

But Ramlal's footsteps brought her back to reality.
Today was different... Ramlal was accompanied by a Fat guy whom he was trying desperately to impress... "Sahib" he called him..

Ramlal walked nearby her place and showed him the area... He did not even pay heed to her...
"Kitna kachraa hai yahaan" mumbled the sahib much to Ramlal's discomfort.
"Hum yahaan reh nahi sakte.Ye sab Fataafat saaf karwao" he said pointing towards her home

Ramlal sprang into action and assured his sahib that everything will be taken care of.
"Bas aaj shaam tak ka time de dijiye. main ye poora kachra saaf kar doonga".

For her, this meant trouble. Ramlal had already destroyed their settlement 2 years back and her entire family had got killed when they opposed it.

Ramlal immediately signaled his men to start working and destroy her house...

The men took up their instruments and neared towards her...

It was precisely at that moment she'd made up her mind on what to do..

She grabbed her 3 children immediately ran across the room and into the adjoining room.
Their she found a small hole and immediately she and her children hid in there...

And the men started their work.. Whooosh..with 1 hit they destroyed her entire home...
All that she had was gone,...

But she was not perturbed at all... She stood still...
She calmly watched as Ramlal's men cleaned up the house..

While Ramlal called up his Sahib to tell him that his Farmhouse was now clean,
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The Spider knew that she could weave her web anywhere anytime she wanted...


-Shraviii