From & To Sathish #5 - Page 23

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPujGNGZqrs

paraprosdokians, figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected.

1. Where there's a will, I want to be in it.

2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it's still on my list.

3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

5. War does not determine who is right - only who is left.

6. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

7. They begin the evening news with 'Good Evening,' then proceed to tell you why it isn't.

8. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

9. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out, I just wanted pay checks.

10. In filling out an application, where it says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put "DOCTOR."

11. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

12. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street...with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

13. Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.

14. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.

15. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

16. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.

17. There's a fine line between cuddling and...holding someone down so they can't get away.

18. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.

19. You're never too old to learn something stupid.

20. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

21. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

22. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

23. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

24. I'm supposed to respect my elders, but now it’s getting harder and harder for me to find one.

Vaanathai Pola 376

Dumbfounded, Raman stared at the speakers through which he and everybody else had clearly heard the hijacker of Qantas 32 say that they wanted him to come to the plane so that they could talk to him directly.

DIG Sam Selvakumar in charge of Aiport security worriedly approached Raman who reached for his mobile but stopped before making the call and looked at the senior police officer.

' Mr Raman, I know that you are heading this situation. But, I need to break protocol and speak my mind.'

Raman nodded indicating him to go on and DIG Sam did so. ' Mr Raman, I am not sure how these hijackers got your name and that too so quickly. It means that there is a leak somewhere and high up, really high up and above our paygrade. My request is to delay as much as possible while we try to learn more about them and what they want.'

' Thank you, sir. I hear you loud and clear' Raman said and then pointing to his phone, ' All decisions are made by my boss and his boss who happens to be the Prime Minister.'

DIG Sam Selvakumar smiled, ' sir, me and Mr Sharad were in the room when Modiji told us clearly, in fact, ordered us to work with you and comply with all your requests and orders. This clearly means that he went over your boss V.k.Singh's authority and handed you the responsibility of handling this crisis.'

' You are the boss. You are now in charge and that means you have to think, act and react quickly instead of wasting time making calls to your boss every time you are faced with a problem' DIG Sam Selvakumar said and quickly apologised, ' Please forgive me for taking liberty with your patience and kindness and speaking my mind frankly.'

Pointing to the huge A380 plane on the tarmac, ' This is soon going to be an international incident and crisis and that means we are going to be examined like germs under a microscope by the world media. Every move you make and every word you speak will become viral and will go out and reach billions of people around the world ' and looking at Raman with pleading eyes, ' Your every word, your every move is going to reflect on our nation and on every Indian.'

Raman nodded grimly, ' Thank you, DIG sir' and then Raman's eyes went over everybody who was staring at him and taking a deep breath spoke loudly, ' I am placing both DIG Sam Selvakumar and Airport director Sharad Kumar in control for, now' and looking at both of them, ' I am going to give my boss V.K.Singh's number who will soon be here with the Defence Minister and along with our own Hostage rescue team headed by Brigadier General Sooryanarayanan. Their planes will land in our Tambaram airbase which will soon be the airport to which high-level teams from all over the world will be arriving.'

He looked at both of them, ' before I leave, these are my final instructions. Block all entrance and exit points from the Airport and place the entire area under lockdown. I want roadblocks on every road that lead up to the airport and only our people are allowed entrance. No civilians are allowed.'

DIG Sam Selvakumar and Airport director Sharad Kumar both looked at him and both asked in one voice filled with worry, ' leave. you said before I leave. Where are you off to, Raman?'

Raman pointed to the plane, ' There, where else would I be going?'

His face grim with worry and stress, he still managed a smile and said, ' I will be there in case you need to get in touch with me and that too only if those on board allow me to do so.'

His words sent shockwaves through all of them and all of them stood watching in silence as he pressed the button and the doors of the elevator opened and swallowed him.

They all rushed to the windows of the control centre and saw him slowly jog his way towards the behemoth of a plane that stood shrouded in darkness and soon the night engulfed him in its arms.

Airport director Sharad Kumar handed over the binoculars to DIG Sam Selvakumar who peered through it and saw the boarding door nearest to the cockpit open up and strained his eyes to catch a glimpse of who had opened the door but the dim light offered him little scope for that.

But, he clearly saw a rope being thrown down to the ground and saw Raman grip it with both hands and then clamber up with an agility that would have shamed a monkey.

All of them saw Raman clamber up into the door and enter the plane and all of them stood watching in fear as the door closed and the plane plunged into near-total darkness.

DIG Sam Selvakumar cursed, ' That young man is either the bravest man that ever walked this earth or soon to be the deadest man on this planet.'

Airport director Sharad Kumar overcome from all the tension asked with tears in his eyes, ' Sam, wtf do we do now?'

DIG Sam Selvakumar looked at him and shrugged his shoulders and replied, ' what else to do but stick ou thumbs up our ars..oles and sit and wait for our hero to get in touch with us.'

Avan, Aval, Adhu 70

They sat drowned in silence and in thought. They sat facing each other but not looking at each other. They sat, two of them after three had been reduced to that after Head nurse Sarojini had left the room.

Ravi smiled a tender smile that was not only heart-warming but heart-melting in its kindness and care.

Glancing at the door, ' Ma'am is really a force to reckon with' and the kind smile still playing a subtle game on his lips, he told Gayatri, ' They make for good mothers, sisters and more than that they make great friends and nurses.'

Her eyes revealed her curiosity piqued but also a bit confusion in them and she looked at Ravi, ' mothers, sisters, friends and great nurses. But what about wives and lovers?'

Ravi's eyes revealed that he was taken aback and a bit on the backfoot for he had not anticipated such an answer that was at the same time loaded with a question.

He smiled, ' Sorry. I should have added that too. My mistake.'

It was not in her nature just to step back and give way or to side-step and move forward and she stood her ground and asked, ' so why didn't you mention them the first time around?'

He looked at her and both their eyes fenced with each other and smiling, he made his best move and said, ' Because, I have no experience with both, wife and lover.'

' why, Ravi? Why is that?'

' Gayatri, are we talking about Chief Nurse Sarojini or have we shifted to me and my life?'

Gayatri adjusted the pillows behind her head and slowly leant back on them and after making herself comfortable, looked at Ravi, ' Both and because they are relevant.'

He smiled, ' seriously, why are we doing this?'

' You did this. You started it by saying that women like Nurse Saro make great mothers, sisters, friends and nurses but you left out....'

' I left out wife and lover' Ravi asked and smiled and Gayatri knew then that he was not the kind of person to back out of a conversation easily and without a valid reason.

' Even if he backed out citing some reason, I will at least be aware of it and through that know more of what is going on in his mind and heart' Gayatri thought to herself and continued to stare at him.

' Gayatri' Ravi said her name and looked at her, ' I am talking now from my own experience and from what I have seen in my life and a little bit of others who I am very close with' and turning slightly away from her intense gaze, ' My mother was a good wife to my father. But, as they grew older, I saw them become great friends and I saw her change roles every day. In times when my dad was not well, she cared for him with the diligence of a nurse but tinged with the love of a mother and a sibling. Then, there were many times when he was down and out in wealth, both the money kind and faith kind and she stood by him as a great friend would do and gave him constant support and saw him tide through.'

His eyes were still recollecting from the rewound memories of his life and he slowly returned his gaze to her sight and saw that Gayatri's eyes were sad and wet with emotion and Ravi asked her, ' Hey, what's wrong? Did I say something to hurt and offend you?'

Gayatri shook her head and unable to control herself began to cry and Ravi not knowing what else to do, went to her and took her in his arms and held her tenderly, close to his heart.

Ravi knew that in his heart that he had said nothing wrong and yet he apologized again and again.

' Sorry. I am really sorry Gayatri' and then much to his surprise it had an effect but one which he had least expected for Gayatri pushed him away and looked at him angrily and said, ' why are you apologizing for me when I am the one who should be apologizing to my own mother and friend for having treated her so badly and cruelly? '

Through the ears, hearing.

Through the eyes, seeing.

Through the lips, speaking.

With the hands, touching.

Shake your head, nodding

Hearing. Yes. Hearing and all of them are just that. An appropriate illusion.

Through the ears, hearing.

Through the eyes, seeing.

Through the lips, speaking.

With the hands, touching.

Shake your head, nodding.

But, you take that and all into your heart, soul with full consciousness and with conscience and feel it all, both empathy and sympathy and that my beauties is called LISTENING.

Not volunteering advice, plans, motivation, nudging, pushing, manipulating and worse of all judging from what you are hearing the other person speak is listening.

Sometimes in life, all another soul wants is you to do that, just that and that is listen. Do you have the time to do that?

No. Why not? simply because, you don't have the will, the time also and also because it becomes another burden for you to carry and worry and so you nod, smile patiently and move on.

Avan, Aval, Adhu 71

She gently pushed him away and looked at him sadly and pointing to the paper on the table, remarked sarcastically, ' I am a hero, me for what, for saving two kids from drowning.'

Slowly leaning back on the bed, Gayatri laid her head on the pillow and staring at the ceiling, ' I am no hero, Ravi. I am a villain. I am a monster. A sadist even and the worst kind' she said and stared at him and he stared back at her with just a sad look in his eyes.

Gayatri continued, ' When my mother died suddenly due to some heart problem, I felt lost. Totally lost and orphaned. Of course, my dad was there and I was pretty close to him. But let me tell you this, Ravi for I am sure you will understand it and will recognise my angst and where I am coming from.'

Wiping her tears, ' The first feeling was that I had been abandoned by my mother although she had not done that and poor soul had just died. Selfishly, I cursed her for leaving me behind and did not stop to think as to how much pain and fear she must have felt in the moments of her dying. But, no, selfish poor me, only thought of my own wants and needs and who was going to take care of me, listen to me and tend to my teenage tantrums.'

She clapped her hands loudly, ' and then the biggest joke, the mist cruellest f..king joke was played on me just six months after my mother's death and that was my dad getting married again.'

She looked at him but Ravi did not say anything and just sat quietly and sat listening to her.

' Today, now I can look back and understand everything because I am all grown-up and a little wiser. But, back then in my teens, I just lost it, man. Really lost it. If losing my mother was not enough, my dad getting married again was the last nail on my mental health and state and I felt like I was crucified. Here was a man with a bloody grown-up daughter nearly 17 years old and in high school and he comes home with a woman just slightly older than me and barely out of her teens and tells me that she is my stepmother, my new mother.'

She looked at Ravi with anger blazing like twin suns, ' was that right? was he correct in doing that, putting his needs in front of mine, his only child who has lost her mother, her best friend and is in the dumps literally?'

Using the sheet to wipe her tears and her eyes, ' Sad, a really f..king sad situation and I lost it and just went ballistic. I did not spare both of them and just cursed both of them with the filthiest of words and even called my dad a f..king paedophile for marrying someone who was just older than his daughter.'

She glared at Ravi angrily and seeing him calmly stare back, asked him, ' No words. No thoughts. WTF is wrong with you man? Here I am ripping my heart out and laying it in front of you and all you are doing is sit there like a tranquil Buddha? '

Ravi asked her what she wanted him to say and Gayatri waved him off angrily.

' Don't, no need for any words' and continued on angrily.

' Those first few years were bad and I began to booze and soon shifted on to drugs and to real hardcore drugs and then I met my future husband Sid aka Sidharth Roy and fell in love. Only to realize, that it was not love but an escape route.'

Her eyes burning with pain, she sobbed her soul, ' we hurt, we run, and try to escape the reality, which is deep down we are all really selfish and ugly souls and all alone. Only when we see, truly see ourselves can we begin to change but before that, it is just pain and hell.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-Gil9l8yIE

Vaanathai Pola 377

The head of RAW(Research and Analysis Wing) general V.k.Singh looked at his mobile wondering if he should call Raman or just wait for him to call back. They had been talking when the call had been disconnected soon after Raman had asked him to hold on and that had been five minutes ago.

Five minutes was nothing when it came to mundane work but the situation with the Qantas32 flight that had landed in Chennai was not mundane by any stretch of one's imagination and was his and everyone's worst nightmare that had come true.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh who was seated exactly opposite to him enquired if he was okay and V.k.Singh nodding, began to cough uncontrollably and he quickly covered his mouth with a handkerchief but it did little to help conceal the drops of blood that soon painted it with red blotches.

' V.K. we both go a long way back and know each other pretty well and only because of that I requested you to sit this one out. But, Modiji left the choice to you and here you are working even in this condition. Please V.K, there are a lot of good men working under you and I am sure they have been perfectly trained by you and are capable of handling this hijacking business. Moreover, Raman is already there and together with him and your team I am sure we can manage this crisis without you having to suffer so much and that too in these final moments of your life.'

V.K.Singh wiped the blood from his lips and smiled, ' Rajnathji, do you really want me, your friend of so many decades to be cooped up in some expensive palliative care hospital, my body pumped with painkillers leaving me totally spaced out, not knowing anything and not even being aware of that moment when my death happens.'

Leaning towards the Defence minister, ' or do you want me to give my best to my country and maybe if I am a lucky ba..ard, even die while on the job. Tell me, friend, what do I really deserve after all these years in service?'

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave him a grim smile and said, ' You are one tough Ba..ard. No wonder people around you fear you but also respect you so much.'

Pointing to the mobile in V.K.Singh's hand, ' why do you keep staring at your phone?'

V.K.Singh looked at him, ' something is wrong. Something about this whole hijacking business is wrong and one of the main reasons for that is we had no prior warnings that something like this was going to happen.'

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh replied, ' maybe but our friends, the Americans too had no clue before Osama with the help of AL-QUEDA attacked them and that too on their own soil and brought down two of their tallest towers, along with an attack on their CIA headquarters at Langley.'

V.K.Singh shook his head and looked out of the window, ' but that was in 2001 and a lot has happened since then. Saddam, Osama and Gaddafi are gone and Al-Queda is not what it was in those days. Who then in the Middle-east has the power, wealth and importantly Ba.ls to take on America and its allies along with the might of NATO? Who has the technology, brains and intelligence to carry out a hijacking of this magnitude?'

He looked at his mobile and saw that nearly ten minutes had passed since he had spoken to Raman, excused himself from the defence Minister and pressed 2 on his phone's keypad and the call was made but it did not go through and a message informed him,' The number you are trying to call is either switched off or not reachable. Please try after some time.'

V.K.Singh tried again and again and cursing called Chennai's airport director and asked him to give the phone to Raman.

Chennai's airport director Sharad Kumar answered slowly, very slowly, ' Sir, Raman is not here at the moment.'

' Not there. Then where is he right now? Has there been some kind of family emergency that has made him leave?'

' No sir. No family emergency but..'

V.K.Singh simply lost it and lashed out at the Sharad Kumar for giving him such half-hearted and half-baked answers, ' You fu..ing moron of a man. What the f..k is wrong with you and why the f..k can't you answer my questions properly? Bloody useless fat bas..rd. I asked you a simple question and I need a simple answer for it and right now or you can get the f..k out of there and go look after some shi..y railway station in the deserts of Rajasthan.'

Airport Director Sharad Kumar was a timid and soft-spoken man at the best of times and was a man who was just about ready to burst an artery after seeing a hijacked plane land in the very airport that he was in charge of and if that was not enough, here was the legendary chief of RAW dishing it out to him and he began to whimper and sob in fear.

DIG Sam Selvakumar grabbed the phone from him and introduced himself.

' Sam, this is General V.K.Singh, head of Raw. I will come to what is wrong with that joker Sharad Kumar later but first, tell me where Raman is right now and better still, give him the phone and ask him to talk to me.'

DIG Sam Selvakumar cleared his throat and said, ' I am sorry sir but I cannot do that for Raman is not here right now.'

V.K.Singh could not help but smile in astonishment at this answer for it just confirmed what that buffoon had confirmed and he asked, ' I am sorry but do you have any idea where he is right now?'

' Yes sir, I do. He just entered the plane and has disappeared from our view.'

V.K.Singh knew that he was sounding stupid by asking a stupid question when he knew what the answer to his stupid question was going to be and yet, he asked it for his whole being had suddenly frozen in fear and his mind seemed ready to explode and he managed the stupid question in a whisper. A far cry from the loud growls and yelling of filthy words that had been him a few seconds ago.

' What plane, DIG Sam?'

' The hijacked plane, sir.'

V.K.Singh did not even realize that he had disconnected the call and it took a bit of shaking of his shoulder by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to bring him out of his trance and he looked at the cabinet minister, his friend and said, ' Raj, Raman has entered the plane and all by himself.'

Although the news was shocking and confusing, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh did not panic for he had met Raman a few times and had judged him instantly.

He smiled and said, ' V.K, don't be scared for this is not Kurukshetra and we are not the Pandavas who saw Abhimanyu entering the trap called Chakravyuha or Padmavyuha and stood by unable to help him. Importantly, the man, your prodigy is called Raman, Gothanda Raman and if you know your history well, nothing or nobody ever bested him or defeated him.'

Vaanathai Pola 378

Raman stopped at the nose of the plane and looked up and gawked at the gigantic form of the plane that was the Qantas32 A380 and forgetting that he was in the midst of a dire situation, stood admiring the genius of man and what he was capable of if he put his mind to a task.

' The first powered flight by Orville wright was back in 1903 and it lasted just 12 seconds, travelled 120 feet, and reached a top speed of 6.8 miles per hour' Raman thought and marvelled to himself, ' and that puny thing weighed but a miserly 274 kgs and this behemoth weighs 277 tonnes on empty and can take off fully loaded and weighing 573 tonnes.'

He shook his head and wondered how a thing weighing so much could even beat gravity and take off into the air and fly at a height of 12kms and travel a distance of more than 8,000 miles nonstop.

The darkness around him suddenly lit up and hearing a noise, Raman looked up and saw the first entrance door nearest to the cockpit open up and a rope being thrown down and he tried sneaky best to get a look at the person who had thrown the rope down but found nobody.

He quickly took out his phone and tried to shoot a few pics but much to his surprise found that he was not able to do so for the camera did not work. Raman then tried calling V.K.Singh but failed and then slowly realized that the terrorists on the plane were probably jamming his phone and had also already hacked it.

He tried again and failing to get his phone working, decided it was better not to waste time and get a move on and grabbed the rope and quickly went up the 30 or more feet using his powerful arms and upper body strength to pull himself and in a few seconds he was near the entrance and with one mighty heave hoisted himself into the large entrance and once inside the plane he was surprised to see the whole flight submerged in dim light.

' At least there is a little bit of light here' Raman thought and closed his eyes and slowly opened them and adjusted his vision by squinting his eyes and tried to see what his eyes would manage to see in the dim light and froze in shock and gasped in fear at the sight that lay in front of him.

Rows and rows of seats stretched away from him and disappeared away into the distant darkness of the rear portion of the plane and all the seats were filled with passengers. But, none moved and all appeared dead and lay motionless.

' This cannot be. This just cannot be. How is this possible? ' Raman mumbled and turned around and checked the economy seats behind him and it was the same situation there too. All ten rows were filled with motionless passengers and who must be surely dead' Raman thought and then hearing the chuckling and squealing of an infant, ran quickly into the belly of the plane, his ears peeled to the noises and stopped at row 38 and in the dim light caught sight of the baby who was safely strapped to his seat and busy playing with a teddy bear softie.'

The shock, panic and fear that he had felt moments ago seemed to lift a little from his soul and with tears of happiness glinting in his eyes he fell to his knees in gratitude and in relief.

The baby was of Caucasian origin and it stared at him with its sapphire blue eyes and squealed a toothless smile and Raman gingerly touched the little baby's pink feet and whispered, ' How is this possible? How have you survived little one?' and decided that it would be better to first remove the child from the plane and take him away to safety and tried to lift him and saw the baby's mother right hand was gently holding on to her child's sweater.

Raman reaching for the mother's fingers that were holding on to her child, a final protective act even in the face of death and his mind reeled in shock for he thought felt a strong pulse in the woman's wrist and quickly lay his fingers on the side of her throat and found a steady and normal pulse.

He quickly checked for a pulse on the passenger next to her and found that the man too had a steady pulse and then did the same for the passengers in the nearby rows and realized that all the passengers were only unconscious and not dead.

' But what made all of them slip into this unconscious state? Did the plane suffer any sudden cabin depressurization that led to a hypoxic situation and forced everyone into unconsciousness? But that is not possible for the pilot did not declare an emergency and landed the plane in a proper manner and expertly.'

Raman's eyes scanned the vents and exclaimed, ' unless some sort of gas was pumped through the air-conditioning ducts thus rendering everyone unconscious and yet all these passengers are showing a steady and normal pulse rate and appear just to be in a deep sleep.'

Totally lost and without a clue as to what was going on, Raman began to wonder about the whereabouts of the Hijackers of the plane.

He closed his eyes and in his mind ran over the structure and the interiors of the Gigantic plane that he had learnt in the little time that he had been given and knew that although an A380 plane could comfortably seat 800 or more passengers, most airlines did not follow that seating specification and that the plane he was in Qantas32 had all its economy seats in the lower deck and most of its premium seats in the upper deck.

There were two staircases that led up to the top deck and one was in the forward meaning the front portion of the plane and the other in the aft which meant the rear portion.

Raman knew that the hijackers of this plane's targets would be the most important passengers on the plane and which would obviously be the members of the British Monarchy and other dignitaries. If they were the obvious targets then they would certainly be travelling in the most expensive business class seats which were on the upper deck.

Raman took a deep breath and told himself, ' You were identified by name and were called out to enter this plane. So, it makes sense the hijackers are waiting on the top deck for you after having probably taken the passengers as hostages. Let's go and see what kind of reception they have prepared for you.'

Falling to one knee, Raman placed a soft kiss on the baby's head that was covered by sparse but soft blond hair and whispered, ' Please God, watch over this innocent soul and see that this baby is not harmed in any way.'

The baby stared at him and gurgled and went back to chewing on the toy and Raman carefully placed the baby's mother's hand on its shoulder and slowly made his way to the staircase that would lead him up to the upper deck.

Vaanathai Pola 379

'Unarmed, Uninformed and with little understanding of what was going on in this plane is an understatement' Raman told himself as he climbed the twenty-odd steps that made up, a slightly winding staircase that led him to the upper deck and stepping into the top deck, he was confronted with the same dim light and a field of seats stretching away towards the Cockpit but all of them with their backs to him.

' I counted 50 rows of 10 seats in the lower deck and all of them were Economy class and that leaves us with this upper deck which is solely meant for first-class and Business class travellers' Raman thought aloud and slowly made his way towards the cockpit and all the while checking the passengers who were all breathing fine and fast asleep.

Even in sleep, Raman observed the clear division that separated the rich from the middle class from the clothes they wore. The rich seemed to wear their designer jeans and tops and other branded clothes casually while the lower deck were all suited up or in blazers. Down below, levis and lee seemed to fill the economy seat while on the upper deck it was all Armani, CK and Guess.

He saw male and female cabin crew members sprawled in a few seats and some were even slumped against the wall, safe and asleep as the passengers. Raman finally reached the Business class section and found all the members of the Royal family of Britain in the same condition. Asleep and with no sign of any injury on them.

Raman's eyes scanned the seats around him checking for Sky marshals, hoping against hope to find a weapon on one of them.

A sky marshal (also known as an air marshal, flight marshal) is a covert law enforcement or counter-terrorist agent onboard a commercial aircraft to counter aircraft hijackings. In response to the September 11 attacks, the Commonwealth instituted an Air Security Officer (ASO) program under the Australian Federal Police in December 2001. These officers are generally referred to in the media as Sky Marshals. The ASO Programme provides a discreet anti-hijacking capability for Australian civil aviation by providing armed security personnel on board aircraft. This involves both random and intelligence-led placement of armed ASOs on flights operated by Australian registered air carriers, on both domestic and international flights. Officers are armed and trained and equipped for a variety of situations on both domestic and international flights.

In the dim cabin lights of the Qantas32 A380 flight, Raman's eyes first ran over all the passengers in close proximity to the sleeping members of the British Royal Monarchy and saw three potential passengers who could be Air Marshals and two were men and one was a woman. He quickly checked both the men and found their gun holsters empty and cursing, carefully checked the woman and found the holster on her left hip empty but in her open jacket, he found a Taser and a can of pepper spray and whispered a prayer to some God who must be watching over him, ' Not the same as a handgun but still something to use in case of an emergency.'

Readers should not get confused between a stun gun and a Taser, though the two terms are often used interchangeably, stun guns and TASERs refer to two different devices. Stun guns administer an electric shock through direct contact, whereas a TASER device administers the shock through thin flexible wires connected to two probes that are fired into the target. Both fall under the Electroshock weapon category.

A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate targets via shocks that temporarily impair the target's physical function to a level that allows them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed darts intended to puncture the skin and remain attached to the target, at 55 m/s. Their range extends from 4.5 m for non-Law Enforcement Tasers to 10.5 m for LE Tasers. The darts are connected to the main unit by thin insulated copper wire and deliver a modulated electric current designed to disrupt voluntary control of muscles, causing "neuromuscular incapacitation", which is often mistaken for unconsciousness by police officers and bystanders. The effects of a taser may only be localised pain or strong involuntary long muscle contractions, based on the mode of use and connectivity of the darts.

Placing both the pepper spray can and the TASER in his rear pant pockets, Raman stood with his hands on his hips surveying the length and breadth of the plane.

' The air marshals have been disarmed and like all the passengers are just fast asleep or in a state similar to that. None of them is exhibiting any signs of even a minor injury and weirdly there is not one Hijacker anywhere in sight. Now all that is left is to check the Cockpit and the several toilets in both the decks' Raman thought to himself and then spontaneously yelled loudly, ' This is Raman and I am here. You not only identified me but then specifically asked for me to come and board this plane alone and unarmed.'

Raising both his arms just in case, the hijackers were watching him through some hidden camera, ' I am totally unarmed and pose no danger. Come out and let's begin negotiating the safe release of all these passengers' Raman spoke loudly and then his eyes involuntarily shut themselves as the cabin's lights came on and they were so bright that he shut his eyes with his hands.

Slowly removing his hands, Raman opened his eyes and in the deafening silence heard a noise and turned towards the direction in which it came from and saw that it was the noise of the Cockpit door opening and from inside a familiar person with a smile on his face stepped out. This was a person who he loved as his brother and friend and for whom he would have willingly sacrificed his life.

Raman's eyes opened wide in disbelief and his sight was suddenly disturbed by the film of tears that drowned his sight and he slowly sank to his knees whispering his best friend's name Vijay Bhaskar again and again. But, his friend had been dead for many months now, killed by the assassins Gulab and Jamun and who had also killed Poornima along with him.

Yet, here he stood in flesh and blood with the same lovely smile on his handsome face and all our hero Raman could do was cry and say, ' I am sorry. I am sorry that they murdered you. I wish it had been me instead of you. Please forgive me for it was my problem with Minister Vaidyanathan that led to you and your friend Poornima dying.'

Raman suddenly fell silent and his face went grim as his mind finally calmed and composed itself and both his hands moved with blurring speed and his right hand reached to his back pocket for the TASER gun and his left hand reached for the can of pepper spray and his legs in perfect harmony with his hands lifted him up to his feet and he fired.

The TASER wires hissed like flying serpents towards Vijay Bhaskar and at the same time using his left hand to spray a long burst of pepper spray into his best friends eyes.

The boy who went into the dark and came back with light.

We are all souls who dance steps between the line that separates darkness and light. We dip our noses and toes between good and bad and live out our lives in both heaven and hell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spkzY8QhHw0

I and you, writer and reader and yet connected through our laughter both in happiness and in sorrow. "Sorrow you say", and with that stop to think, look away into the distance and then remember. Remember them, all those times when bad things suddenly happened to you forcing you to throw up your arms in frustration and in anger at the heavens above and ask sarcastically, ' God, what's with all your ill-timed jokes and cruel pranks?' and helpless and impotent, shake your head and laugh it off while inside you are tearing up in pain and in anger.

Like we laugh in joy and sorrow we also cry and shed tears in sorrow and spontaneously in happiness.

We cry when we are told of bad news and we cry when we are given good news and we don't think much about it after it.

Researchers have found that crying can benefit both your body and your mind, and these benefits begin at birth with a baby’s first cry.

There are three different types of tears: reflex tears, continuous tears, and emotional tears.

Reflex tears clear debris, like smoke and dust, from your eyes. Continuous tears lubricate your eyes and help protect them from infection. Emotional tears may have many health benefits. Whereas continuous tears contain 98 per cent water, emotional tears contain stress hormones and other toxins. Researchers have theorized that crying flushes these things out of your system, though more research is needed in this area. Crying for long periods of time releasesTrusted Source oxytocin and endogenous opioids, otherwise known as endorphins. These feel-good chemicals can help ease both physical and emotional pain. Once the endorphins are released, your body may go into somewhat of a numb stage. Oxytocin can give you a sense of calm or well-being. It’s another example of how crying is a self-soothing action.

Along with helping you ease pain, crying, specifically sobbing, may even lift your spirits. When you sob, you take in many quick breaths of cool air. Breathing in cooler air can help regulate and even lower the temperature of your brain. A cool brain is more pleasurable to your body and mind than a warm brain. As a result, your mood may improve after a sobbing episode.

Hey, no. Not at all. I don't want you to cry if that kind of wishing is even possible. Just telling you that crying sometimes helps. It has helped me, a lot and lots of times.

Avan, Aval, Adhu 72

They sat sipping their coffees, fresh filter coffee that mixed its heady chicory and coffee bean flavour with the emotions left hanging and drifting in the room. Those said by Gayatri and those unsaid and remained unspoken by Ravi.

Gayatri pointed to the newspaper that he had been reading and that carried a small column in which her rescue of the two kids had been written about and looked at Ravi who glanced at it meaningfully but looked at her with his poised and tranquil look.

' Obviously, you are not going to pursue the matter about the article in that paper and it should be obvious to me that you are not going to do that and yet here I am wanting you to do that' Gayatri stated sarcastically and realizing that she was not going to provoke him into saying something, complained instead, ' Boss, how do people around you manage with this rather infuriating persona of yours?'

Ravi chuckled, ' They don't and only my mother puts up with me and that I guess because she is responsible for me and also maybe because she loves me a lot.'

' But, Ravi, you get out a lot and it is not as if you spend a lot of time cooped up in your house with your mother' and pointing to the windows, ' what about the outside world, people outside your personal boundaries?'

He looked at her with surprise and then reflecting on her question for a few moments, looked at her with a sheepish grin on his face that made him look like a teenager, he replied, ' I am not if my answer will be fully satisfactory?'

' But answer away, master sir and leave the satisfaction to me' Gayatri said with a naughty smile and twinkle in her eyes and clearing her throat in an authoritarian manner, growled, ' I am waiting, boss, so don't go zombie on me.'

' No, I promise I won't but..' he paused and looked at her, ' do you always do this?'

' Do what, Ravi?'

' Bully people this way?' he asked and looked at her and Gayatri smiled and shook her head and replied, ' No, Ravi. Only people I care and trust and who I know will understand that I am just playing with them.'

Ravi's face softened a bit and he looked at her but as was the nature of his soul, did not complete it with words that would have described and better expressed his thoughts.

' Gayatri, the outside world is, will and justifiably so remain just that, the outside world and all those who exist there are outsiders. I don't even think or react to what others think about me and why and how they react to me. I do my duty as well as it can be done and when I say duty it means both, this world and the other world. Man and God.'

She looked at him, ' have you always been like this, I mean, so serious, and one who lives by his own set of codes?'

He nodded, ' As long as I can remember,' and he looked at her and smiling shyly, ' and let me tell you that my memory is good.'

She could not help it and she blurted out, ' You are single and in your early 40s' and the statement, a loaded question seemed to evoke some memory deep inside him and a wispy ghostly vapour of it slipped out of its prison, his soul and reflected on his face. Barely discernible but still there.

Sighing, he smiled and shut up and waited for her to say, ask what she wanted to and so she asked.

' I mean, you are in your 40s. Bachelor but still a very eligible bachelor and yet I feel that it is a situation that you have created for yourself. A prison that you have built for yourself. Here but not here but somewhere else. Alive but not fully alive' and waving her hands in frustration, she looked at him angrily and mumbled, ' You know what I am talking about, right?'

Ravi nodded and Gayatri plunged in recklessly, ' what is this state of existence called, boss?'

' Jeeva Samadhi.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBMhP4-kA98

Avan, Aval, Adhu 73

Gayatri heard him and yet unsure of what he had said, looked at him with surprise, ' Ravi, What did I hear you say? Can you say it again, please?'

Ravi looked at her, her surprise seemingly reflecting on his own face but for a totally different reason. Realizing that he had let slip his guard, his visage that he presented to the outside world and surprised by it, his face fell back into its now all-too familiar mask as she asked him what he had said and then Gayatri mentioned the very word he had used with a bemused expression.

' Jeeva samadhi? Am I correct? That is what you just said, right?' she said and looked at him with a blank and vague expression and then the meaning of what he had said and meant hit her with the force of a heavy hammer and she looked at him disbelievingly and asked, 'You mean being buried alive after deciding to become one with the Divine or universe?'

Ravi looked at his watch and tried to get up and now it was Gayatri's visage, mask that slipped, fell away as her frustration decided to join hands with anger and she leant forward and gripped his hand tightly, ' If you leave now without explaining what you meant, it will not only be rude on your part but I will take it as a personal insult,' and slowly letting go of his hand, she continued in a slightly softer tone, 'and let me tell you that I don't like being insulted or people who do that.'

' I am sorry Gayatri but I have to go for I have a few people waiting for me and I don't like wasting other people's time by being late.

Turning her face, she spoke now but in a tone that was filled more with sadness and pain, ' Leave, go, but don't come back.'

Ravi's face clearly showed that he was hurt by her words and he asked her in a very soft and nearly timid voice, ' Do you really mean what you just said?'

' Yes,' she replied and looked at him pointedly, daring him to either explain what he had meant when he had used the words " Jeeva Samadhi" or leave and never come back.

She lost both for Ravi apologized to her by telling her that he had not meant to offend her or spoil her mood in any way and slowly walked towards the door.

Shocked, taken aback and also angered by his actions or lack of it, Gayatri did something that she herself did not know that she was capable of.

Her feet found the floor and her heart telling them to move, she ran to him and hugged him from the back and said, ' Don't go. Please don't go.'

Ravi stood still facing the door and then he slowly turned and looked at her, into her and spoke to her soul from his soul.

' Jeeva means our spirit, our life force and samadhi means intense concentration or meditation and also becoming one with the universe or one with whom your heart......

She stared at him as he fumbled and tried searching for the right words to express his thoughts but he failed and only then she saw the tremendous pain he was in and then she saw his beautiful, gentle, loving eyes fill with tears and she literally felt her heartbreak as she witnessed his pain and all the suffering that he must have experienced for years on and placing her hand on his mouth, she stopped him, ' No, stop. I don't want to know. I don't need any explanation of anything. All I want is for you to be happy and peaceful for that will be my happiness.'

She gently wiped the tears that liked dew drops on morning leaves and like diamonds shimmering in the night and hugged him tightly, ' I am sorry, Master sir. Please forgive this stupid student who has just joined your class.'

She felt his soft laughter and looked at him and seeing him smile whispered, ' Thank God that your sun smile has come out of its dark clouds.'

She looked at him with the same love and kindness that filled his eyes when he saw through him and he looked back and then slowly bent his head and buried her mouth in his and breathed into her and two became one.

She felt thunder, lightning and bombs going off all around her and in her and she moaned both in fear and passion and then she felt and realized what the kiss of his mouth meant. It meant that a door had been opened and through which she could finally go home to where she really belonged and into a soul for whose love she had been yearning for all her life.

She hugged him tightly and held on to him and not wanting to let go.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/relationships/love-sex/types-of-kisses-that-define-a-mans-intentions/photostory/78427339.cms?picid=78427569