Chronicles of Nikhil Baliga

Swami Gulagulaananda said: " Walk the path of righteousness, walk the path alone if you must " "You really didn't have to drive me back home, you know", she said looking at me. I was squinting my eyes to look through the drops that had accumulated on my windshield. It had been raining heavily and my wiper blades seemed to be performing the perfunctory role of sweeping over the glass without doing much in the elimination of the water. "That's not a problem. It's quite late and autorickshaw drivers love the combination of rains and nights. It's rabbit season for them." As I threaded my car through the traffic, guessing half the time, my phone blared out "In 500 metres, turn right". I was wondering what I'd have done if it wasn't for my phone. "Stop the car near that yellow car over there", she pointed. I brought my car to a gradual halt in front of her house. "I had a great time. Thanks. When are we catchi...

Swami Gulagulaananda said: " Fight injustice... And not (arm)chair fights " The metro train slowly came to rest and the doors opened. Passengers alighted and others boarded. The doors slid shut. The train wasn't particularly crowded, but none of the newly boarded commuters got a seat. The train had started gaining speed. The construction worker next to me looked out of place in a train full of middle-class. He clutched his hard hat tighter as he looked around uncomfortably. Looking at him feeling slightly out of place, a rather rotund woman waddled up to him, and demanded a seat. The poor worker sheepishly proceeded to stand up. I caught his shoulder and pulled him down. "The first coach is reserved for women. Why don't you go there?" I demanded. "It's common decency to be chivalrous and give up seats to women", she replied. "It's alright" smiled the worker as he stood up. I once again held his shoulder and pulled him back to his...

Swami Gulagulaananda said: “ We all owe a debt to society… You are significantly more privileged than you think ” The soft rays of the morning sun slipped through the blinds and woke up Simi. As she opened her well rested eyes, a smile formed on her face as she looked at the calendar on the wall. Just one more day to go . She looked at the neat array of stuffed dolls adorning a specially created shelf. But this birthday was special and she knew exactly what she wanted. " Maaaa!! Coffee!! " she yelled. A few moments later, her parents walked into her room, beaming at their daughter. Offering her the cup, her mom asked her, " Just one more day for your birthday, Simi beta. What do you want for your present? " This was the moment that she was waiting for. She held the cup between her palms and interwoven fingers and looked at the brown liquid. Then, gushing a little, she said " Ma, Pa, I want the new iPhone X ". At this, her mom turned to look at her d...

Swami Gulagulaananda said: " The higher the moving parts, the higher the chance of failure. Unless you have a process set up " Startled by the shrill sound of my digital alarm, I groped around to hit the snooze button. I thought I had explicitly turned it off, but I was mistaken. Sleep had eluded me for the past few weeks due to the murder case that had kept me awake through several nights at a stretch, and having finally solved it, these few winks of sleep that I had been having were well deserved. As I groggily waved my arms into the darkness trying to reach my clock, I realised by the alternate shimmering of the screen, that it was my phone that had been ringing. Through my heavy eyelids, I tried to concentrate on the name on the screen - It was the Police Commissioner. The sight of that label jolted me upright. I immediately grabbed the phone and answered it. " I'm sorry to wake you up in the middle of the night, Surya, but there has been a development. How...

Swami Gulagulaananda reminded: " As you sow, so shalt you reap " Kumar turned around to look at his friend. " So what do you think? Should we do it? " Suresh, lying on his back, seemed to be completely oblivious to the question. Staring at the leaves of the peepal tree under which they rested, he seemed to be lost in thoughts. " Well? " persisted Kumar. " Let's wait till Shyam gets here " he replied. " Oh good, Shyam is here " said Kumar seeming relieved. He wanted to get done with it. He had been waiting for this for a while now, and he was glad that there was finally company. " Fine morning today ", said Shyam cheerily as he approached his friends. " What are you both up to? " Just as Kumar got ready to respond " Actually... ", Suresh casually interjected " We are thinking of going to the Antarangaasura cave " Shyam looked a little scared. " Isn't that cave haunted? " he ...

Swami Gulagulaananda said: " It is the mind that makes you feel what it wants to make you feel " You can now read the story from the book - Swami G's Short Stories Buy now - Just $0.99 My head was feeling heavier and lighter alternately. I could feel myself letting go as I relaxed in my easy-chair. I imagined that this was the kind of headiness that was experienced by those who consumed liquor. I tried to open my eyes but could barely get my eyelids to separate. When I did manage to squeeze some sight through a narrow slit between my eyelids, all that I could see was some white light. I let out a soft groan. " Are you in a condition to speak? " said a dignified voice. " Yes, I am just finding it a little hard to stay conscious " I replied. " That's good. A semi-conscious state seldom exercises restraint. When the inhibition centre shuts down, the invisible iron curtain crumbles and like water escaping through the breach in a d...

Baba Gyani Triviani said: " And he wondered who in heaven's name makes mushy love stories and why they are popular... and he realised when he fell in love " " So you are going to get married to that guy? What's there in him that's not there in me? " I asked indignantly.  " It's not about qualities Amit, you know it. It's my parents' wish and I can't go against them " she replied " Of course, I've heard that rot a million times. But I don't understand why him? I mean, he looks like a horse I tell you. " " He looks nothing of that sort " she replied shortly " Oh defending him already, are we? Why, if your father was interested in horses, he should have been gambling and betting on horses in the race course. Not gambling your future on this horse " I said with great gusto. Future on this horse. I beamed at my own cleverness. That was capital. I then saw the smouldering look of hers ...

Baba Gyani Triviani said: " In Bangalore city, the general public is like the Joker. They work very hard to bring the White Knight down to their level " Just the other day, I was reading an interesting article about reciprocity. Apparently, the maxim " One good turn deserves another " is imbibed into our culture very deeply, so deeply that we remember good turns done to us and return favours invariably, if not immediately then over time. A good demonstration of this can be seen in the experiment by a well known psychologist whose assistant got twice as much money for raffle tickets when he got the people some coca-cola to drink (as a good gesture), than those who didn't get coca-cola - and people who didn't like him but got coke also paid double of those who liked him but didn't get coke. Amazing, isn't it? The author goes on to say that reciprocity works everywhere. But I don't think this theory works all the time at all. In fact, a couple...

Baba Gyani Triviani said: " I wonder if it is better to be fruitier than a nut-cake or nuttier than a fruitcake " The boring drivel continued unabated. My chum on my left was busy doodling what I could only imagine to be a grotesque version of a rabbit. Or was it a witch? I rest my case. " This bally lecture seems to be unending " I said through clenched teeth " It's not like anyone's listening ". He continued shading some areas carefully. " What do you think of it? I drew ginger " he said proudly. " Nice " I said to avoid the topic. Ginger? It looked like a dead rat. " You won't believe what happened to me yesterday " I told him. " I got an e-card from this girl I happened to meet recently. I don't know how to respond to it. What do you reckon I should do? " He made a face. But it seemed like I had finally caught his attention. " What ho! A girl you say? To you? Surely you didn't conco...

Swami Gulagulaananda said: " No matter how good one can get, there is always someone who is better " [This story is based on an episode of Rurouni Kenshin - A beautiful anime/manga] During the days of the Samurai, there was a Dojo in the grand city of Kyoto where many students learnt the art of swordsmanship. Among them was the hero of this story. The students were mostly good, but only this young man stood out from the rest. He was able to beat all of them with ease. He hardly felt that they were a challenge. One dark night, as the wind blew with all its might, and the rain fell down in torrents, this young man, who was on his way home beheld a sight that would change his life. There was an eerie shriek, one that made him instantly alert. He quickly clasped his sword, ready to swing into action, slightly skeptical however, for he knew not who the foe was. The shriek was that of a young woman who had just been robbed. The masked bandit who had relieved her of her jewe...