It was the year 1993. British army officer Jack was relaxing at his countryside home in Dorset. His son Nathan came running back home. He had a big red balloon. Red was his favourite colour as he loved Manchester United. Nathan went into his room with the big balloon. He locked the room from inside and he dropped the key on the messy table.
Jack was watching television when he heard the balloon burst. He tried to peep into Nathan's room. He could not get in as it was locked from inside. "Nathan!! what happened? Is everything alright?" he yelled. "Dad I can't see a thing. Its all green in here" said Nathan.
Jack went out on the other side and peeped into the window of Nathan's room. He could see that the room was covered with a green coloured gas. From the colour he could guess that it was chlorine. He knew that chlorine was lethal. "Nathan, open the door and come out immediately" he said nervously.
Nathan started searching for the key on the table. The table was a mess and he could not remember where he kept it. He started panicking. "Dad i cant find the key. It might have fallen down." said Nathan. "Ok Ok kid. Relax. Now dont bend or lie down looking for it. Stand still. " said Jack. Jack knew that chlorine was denser near the ground. Chlorine when inhaled would be fatal, destroying tissue in the lungs.
Jack had to react fast."Now do you have water in there?" asked Jack. "No dad." replied Nathan."Ok. No problem. Remove your shirt." instructed Jack. Nathan removed his shirt. "Now start peeing on it." said Jack. Jack knew that this technique was used during the world war to counteract chlorine. It was well known that chlorine readily reacted with urea to form dichlorourea.
"Hold the shirt near your mouth and nose. Start looking for the key now." said Jack. Nathan started searching for it and he found the key that was lying on the floor. He opened and came out of the door. Jack was relieved.
He suspected that it was an attempt to kill his son. He started inquiring Nathan. "Who gave you the balloon?" he asked.
"An old man gave us the balloon when i was returning home after playing. He gave each one of us a balloon. He offered me a red one. Since i like red a lot i accepted it. Then he told me that if i burst out the balloon in my room without anyone around i would be able to see sparkles from it. He also told me that all my wishes would come true when i see the sparkles. I was very excited about it and i tried to burst it out."
Jack immediately called all the other kids to know about their being. All of them were safe. Jack came to know that only the balloon given to Nathan had chlorine in it. Jack got the details about the old man from Nathan and he came out with a sketch.
The suspect seemed to be familiar to Jack. Few years back Jack had shot an IRA man and arrested his father who was also part of the IRA.
Jack started his hunt for the balloon man.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Supersinger
It was the year's most awaited reality show. Yes it was the Supersinger event of the year which aimed at finding young talents and giving an impetus to their careers. Aadhi was one of the participants. His sole aim was to subjugate others and come through as a star. He looked spruce and tidy and was raring to go. One thing which made Adhi very special was he was blind. That year the supersinger had announced a huge sum of 1 crore for the eventual winner. As usual the winner had to be chosen through SMS voting.
The contest had started and Aadhi was impeccable in his singing. He had made it to the final. The final comprised of some real talents. There were much better singers than Aadhi. The final round was over and it was upto to the people to decide. Aadhi hailed from a small village. So not many had known him before the competition but after the final the whole of India was backing him. Votes of sympathy poured in and yes he had won it. He loved the trappings of success. Lots of wishes, prize money and what not.
The day after he won the competition he went to meet Dr. Agarwal. They met in a private room. Aadhi signed a cheque for 50 lakhs and gave it to Dr. Agarwal. Yes he filled it and signed it. He was not blind. It was Dr. Agarwal who gave a certificate that he was blind. Aadhi knew that the only way he was going to win the competition was through sympathy votes. And Aadhi feigned blindness to perfection.
The contest had started and Aadhi was impeccable in his singing. He had made it to the final. The final comprised of some real talents. There were much better singers than Aadhi. The final round was over and it was upto to the people to decide. Aadhi hailed from a small village. So not many had known him before the competition but after the final the whole of India was backing him. Votes of sympathy poured in and yes he had won it. He loved the trappings of success. Lots of wishes, prize money and what not.
The day after he won the competition he went to meet Dr. Agarwal. They met in a private room. Aadhi signed a cheque for 50 lakhs and gave it to Dr. Agarwal. Yes he filled it and signed it. He was not blind. It was Dr. Agarwal who gave a certificate that he was blind. Aadhi knew that the only way he was going to win the competition was through sympathy votes. And Aadhi feigned blindness to perfection.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
The Davis Cup Double
All the news channels were broadcasting India's enthralling Davis cup victory. It was India's maiden Davis cup win. The Odyssey began with a victory over China and ended with a gruelling encounter with the US. Prithvi was the hero of the day. The day marked the culmination of his sporting career. He defeated the insurmountable Andrew in a weary final which lasted 5 sets. The last set score stood 25-23.
The coach Krishnan was on cloud nine after the victory. The last singles match between Prithvi and Andrew was the decider and it was played aptly at kolkata. Prithvi was cheered for every point. Everybody believed that defeating Andrew was chimerical. But the chivalrous Prithvi did the impossible. Coach krishnan returned home with lot of wishes and gifts pouring. He went into his room and stood in the balcony. He felt the balmy breeze across the balcony. He was clearly not happy. He looked a very sad man with full of guilt. He recollected those moments.
It was his plan to have a medical timeout in the middle of the third set. Prithvi had lost 2 sets and had won one by that time. Clearly he was not fit to play a five setter. That was when coach krishnan signalled him to have a medical time out. Prithvi went to the changing room and he came back fresh and won the match. Only krishnan and Prithvi knew who came back and played. It was Prithvi's double Sanjay. Krishnan had to do this for national pride. He wanted to be the first coach to bring home a davis cup and he was ready to do anything for it. He groomed Prithvi and Sanjay stealthily and it was their first davis cup. It was the beginning of the fantastic career of Prithvi as a player and krishnan as a coach.
The coach Krishnan was on cloud nine after the victory. The last singles match between Prithvi and Andrew was the decider and it was played aptly at kolkata. Prithvi was cheered for every point. Everybody believed that defeating Andrew was chimerical. But the chivalrous Prithvi did the impossible. Coach krishnan returned home with lot of wishes and gifts pouring. He went into his room and stood in the balcony. He felt the balmy breeze across the balcony. He was clearly not happy. He looked a very sad man with full of guilt. He recollected those moments.
It was his plan to have a medical timeout in the middle of the third set. Prithvi had lost 2 sets and had won one by that time. Clearly he was not fit to play a five setter. That was when coach krishnan signalled him to have a medical time out. Prithvi went to the changing room and he came back fresh and won the match. Only krishnan and Prithvi knew who came back and played. It was Prithvi's double Sanjay. Krishnan had to do this for national pride. He wanted to be the first coach to bring home a davis cup and he was ready to do anything for it. He groomed Prithvi and Sanjay stealthily and it was their first davis cup. It was the beginning of the fantastic career of Prithvi as a player and krishnan as a coach.
Monday, January 07, 2008
The bland magician
The whole city of bangalore was going agog about the magic show that was about to happen that day. John, the greatest magician of his times was going to perform the show. The show was titled "Magic Journey". John was planning to take the audience for a ride with his bountiful tricks. The show was all set to begin. It began with a prelude from Mohan, one of John's best buddies. Then the stage was all John's. John began with the trick of "Disembodied Princess". It was performed to utmost perfection. He expected a thunderous applause from the audience. Oddly enough the audience remained silent. John did not give up. He followed it up with a brilliant execution of the "vanishing bird cage" trick. To his utter dismay there was no response from the audience again. He then conjured up a series of tricks. But the audience were obstinately silent. His final trick "bullet catch" was over. No response yet. John was totally abased by the audience. Even though it was a brilliant performance by John, the response from the crowd made it a bland magic show.
It was time for the valedictory address. Mohan was back again on the stage. As soon as he uttered the word "Now", the whole audience stood up on their feet and they gave a standing ovation to John. Now John started realizing the situation. It was all Mohan's trickery. He had requested the audience in his prelude not to laud John's performance. Mohan wanted to give a pleasant shock to John as his birthday present. Yes that day was John's birthday.
It was time for the valedictory address. Mohan was back again on the stage. As soon as he uttered the word "Now", the whole audience stood up on their feet and they gave a standing ovation to John. Now John started realizing the situation. It was all Mohan's trickery. He had requested the audience in his prelude not to laud John's performance. Mohan wanted to give a pleasant shock to John as his birthday present. Yes that day was John's birthday.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Pin drop silence
It was a saturday morning. I reached coimbatore. I reached quite late at around 9.30 in the morning. It was a day of tamil new year. Usually all of my family members meet at my home that day. When i reached home almost all my relatives were there. All the kids were there. I expected complete fun there with lot of noise. But to my surprise there was pin drop silence.
Everyone was whispering to each other. I felt that something was wrong there. My grandfather was weak. So i thought may be he had fallen sick and that is why everyone is silent. At one corner of the house i saw my sister looking sad. Then i realized that her results were out that day. May be she has flunked and got nicely from everyone. That is why may be there was dead silence. My elder brother was standing at the other end of the room with a blank face. I thought may be he had revealed his love affair and that had created pandemonium. Finally i decided to ask my mother about the silence. I asked her. She whispered that my 5 year old niece had just fallen asleep and that was why everybody was silent. I then noticed the child sleeping on my uncle's lap. I slowly moved into my room with pin drop silence.
Everyone was whispering to each other. I felt that something was wrong there. My grandfather was weak. So i thought may be he had fallen sick and that is why everyone is silent. At one corner of the house i saw my sister looking sad. Then i realized that her results were out that day. May be she has flunked and got nicely from everyone. That is why may be there was dead silence. My elder brother was standing at the other end of the room with a blank face. I thought may be he had revealed his love affair and that had created pandemonium. Finally i decided to ask my mother about the silence. I asked her. She whispered that my 5 year old niece had just fallen asleep and that was why everybody was silent. I then noticed the child sleeping on my uncle's lap. I slowly moved into my room with pin drop silence.
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