It could have been me.

I just saw a photograph and thought it could have been me. No, it wasn't another of Indian Railways tragedies. Nor another airlines hijack. Just a simple photograph. Only, I wanted to be there, inside.

But sometimes it is surprising. I mean, in my childhood, I was taught the lesson of truth in a truthful, and rather forceful manner. Every lie was treated like a treason, and the lesson impounded well. I don't really think it was the best way because it ignited the curiosity in me, and whenever I could, I tried to venture away. Away from the strict discipline.
Life taught me the same lesson in a very different way. As a child, I used to make lots of excuses. Friends from those days, [Suryansh etc] would be sufficient witness. I mean, one of those days he was banging at my door at 3 am for a supposed trip. I never woke up, nor did anyone at home, and the trip never materialised. Not to say that the thing was intentional. But it happened because I wasn't really too keen.
Even later, I felt the sting of painful misunderstandings whenever I tried to have my way without telling the truth. The attempts were never fruitful anyway.
Some of my friends had begun calling me JKG [ short for Joru Ka Ghulam ]. When Talisma asked me what JKG meant, my instant flush of embarassment left me wanting to craft a plausible explanation. I came up with some weird incredible stuff, but within an hour or so, I was emailing her the truth.
Gradually I learnt the lesson. But it comes with its own set of difficulties. You have to avoid mention of somethings lest the unanswerable questions be put forth.

Here at Wee-Haa-Uuu, they have some arbit rules. Class schedules are really weird. Four sessions [ 2 each before and after lunch ] of an hour and a half , 3 days in a row, and the course is complete. That is how they plan to teach us the nuances of Corporate Restructuring. Given the propensity of tauschies to shirk, it was tough anyway. They have made it impossible!
But the prof is good. Its spooky though, because at times he begins to resemble George Bush Jr a little too much.

...
Aaj fir dil ne ek tamanna ki
aaj fir dil ko humne samjhaya
...
Hum jise gunguna nahi sakte
wakt ne aisa geet kyun gaya
...