Category: कथा

Rakesh was sitting at the table of the title game for his Grandmaster title. The game was on, he and his opponent were confident and calm at the same time. He was all ready for this tough match. He had trained himself for such prestige matches ever since he had decided to dive in this mind game as his career. He has trained with most honored Grandmaster in the country for years and achieved all his FIDE norms for the title in last two years at various championships.

Rakesh picked up the game in later years of his childhood but the way he mastered the techniques was a matter of amusement for his loved ones. His grasp was good considering his elder age. Generally, people think if you pick up chess at elder age, your grasping capacity is not your best friend. But Rakesh tamed his grasping power and mastered his moves. He has never felt agitated because of the long stretched game. If he is not at the table for the game, you can find him sitting in a corner chair with his earpiece on. He enjoyed classical vocals. He claimed it helped him to calm and concentrate on his next game.

Rakesh was in his prime when this title match got scheduled. He was ready for this moment. His opponent was also in his best form. He was unbeaten for last 30 games. Media had made it a pressure point against Rakesh. But Rakesh is calm and composed. He reached the venue an hour before. Everyone was arriving. Press tried to get his pre-match statement but he avoided them. Opponent entered into the hall. Rakesh exchanged glances with him. They shared respectful head nods. His earphones were playing his favorite renditions by the maestro. Officials started arranging the table. A Decent crowd was chess lovers gathered in the gallery of the hall. Press crew was waiting for the match to start.

The table was all set for the match. Clock ringed for the scheduled hour. Both of the players arrived at the table. They were formally introduced. Pleasantries exchanged. Today, Rakesh was playing with the blacks. Rakesh tripped the clock and the game started. Whites made the opening move and opponent offered, “Your move, sir” and the game was on.

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I am participating in A to Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on day 13 challenge. “M for Your move, Sir”

Shrill horn was blown on time and she moved, slowly. I felt the initial jerk as her engine pulled the connected wagons. Slowly she was picking up the pace and I started looking out from the window. I started the journey to my hometown after almost one year. It was nothing but struggle since I landed in this sleepless city of Mumbai. When you have to move to a different city, it’s gruesome to adjust if you have not a single familiar soul. Things go to a higher level if you are moving in against your wishes and plans are altered entirely.

It is hard to accept how the destiny can change everything in just a moment with its mighty force. Or should I say, Nature can turn things upside down in just one blow? The day was Lucky and Unlucky for me. Lucky, just because I am alive and breathing to tell you this story and Unlucky because I lost my everything. I lost my entire family, my home, my workplace everything turned into a heap of rubble with just one earth tremor. I lost many of my friends on that day or after some days when they had paid their share of pain and suffering.

I am alive just because I was on the ground playing cricket with my 5 friends. Everyone was happy, enjoying their Sunday and the next moment, it all shook and dust clouds and screams rose up in the air. It was not making any sense. A day or two passed in shock. All 5 of us huddled and was sitting in community hall amongst all other survivors. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts. It was an awkward silence. Staying in hometown was depressing. As soon as we came out of shock, we decided to shift to other towns. They all chose places where their relatives lived. Two of them have moved to Delhi, one is in Ahmedabad, and one in Chennai. But I took the different path.

I gathered what I could and took the first train to this city of dreams. I still get those horrifying dreams of the day. We have hardly talked with each other in last year, but since last week we have been talking about all the trauma of coping with loss, how we all are struggling to accept this truth. And then the plan came on the table about facing our demons at the same place where they were created. No doubt, the battle is going to be fierce but we can’t run away from it forever. In two days, the year will pass after that tragedy. And we all have started the journey, to the same destination. The journey to accept the reality and to move on.

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I am participating in A to Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on day 1 challenge. “A for Acceptance”