Nishkantos and the Merry men Part-I

In memory of the erstwhile PAT/VAWT Boys...:D

Disclaimer: Any resemblance to a real lively person/persons is purely intentional...:D

Once upon a time, there lived in the Ancient realm of the West, four legendary warriors, Nishkantos, Sagaricus, Pajax and Hershules. They enjoyed an enviable reputation throughout the lands for their skill, knowledge and dedication in the field of Warcraft. They had defeated many an evil warlord on their numerous journeys through land and seas. With their strong camaraderie and mutual respect, they had been an inseparable band of brothers, and local folklore sang paeans to their friendship.

The warriors roamed to far and distant lands in order to acquire more knowledge. On the way, they used to utilise their skills to help and protect the needy and the oppressed.

One day, on another one of their journeys passing through a dark and frightening forest, they came across an old inn. They decided to call it a day, and rest in that inn. They knocked on the door.

There was no reply. After sometime, they knocked again.

“I am asleep right now; come back after two hours”, said a voice from the inside.

The warriors looked at each other in confusion. Pajax knocked again.

“Hello, dear sir, we are warriors from the West. We need a place to rest for the night.”

The door flung open immediately.

“Warriors ! Ah, welcome, welcome, do come in. I apologise for my behaviour. It is not everyday, that one receives proper warriors in such far off places. Most of the time, it is either the lunatics or the henchmen of evil warlords. By the way, I am Avidius, the innkeeper.”

“Hello, sir, I am Nishkantos, and these are my friends Pajax, Sagaricus and Hershules. We are warriors from the West. We need lodgings for the night.”

“Of course, my friends, there is plenty of food and space for all of you. I will prepare for your dinner shortly. Make yourselves comfortable”, said Avidius.

That night, the four warriors enjoyed a hearty meal with Avidius the innkeeper.

Early in the morning, they bid Avidius farewell and continued on their journey. They had walked hardly a hundred yards when they heard a shrill cry from the other side of the forest. They looked at each other. At a distance there was a sharp noise of doors and windows being shut by the old innkeeper.

Sensing trouble, and deciding not to leave their friend, the innkeeper in such a dangerous situation, they headed back to the inn and knocked.

There was no reply. They knocked again.

BAM !!!!

Avidius slammed the door open. He had a shotgun in one hand and a dagger in the other. On seeing the four warriors, the innkeeper heaved a sigh of relief.

“Äh, it is you again”, sighed the innkeeper.

“Whom were you expecting?” asked Sagaricus.

“But the werewolves, of course. Do you not know? This forest is infested by a pack of werewolves. I thought that was the reason you came here in the first place.”

“So, that is the reason why no one lives around here. But, then why do you continue to run your inn at such a place?”

“Hahaha, because someone must. Someone must put up a stand. There was a time, when I was a warrior myself. Me and my friends were travelling through this place, when we were divided, and murdered by these werewolves. I was the only survivor. On that day, I took an oath not to leave this forest until I avenge my friends.”

“And we shall help you in fulfilling that oath”, said Nishkantos.

The other three nodded in approval.

“Thank you, my friends. I am sure, that with your help, we will be able to rid this land of these cursed creatures.”

“So, how many werewolves are there, exactly?“, asked Hershules.

The pack consisted of 30 werewolves when we arrived here. I have already killed 12. That still leaves around 20 of them.

“Hmmm..But there is one problem Avidius, we have never faced a werewolf before”, said Sagaricus, to which the other three warriors nodded.

“Fear not, my dear friend, for I will teach you how and with what to hunt them with”, reassured Avidius.

Over the next few days, the four warriors worked tirelessly as Avidius taught them the correct way of killing a werewolf with a silver dagger and silver bullets. Together, they made an infallible plan to rid the land of werewolves forever.

On the fifth night, Avidius accompanied by the four warriors scourged the forests for werewolves and killed them all, thus making the forest a safer place for humans and animals alike.

The news spread like wild fire across the region. Avidius’s business started booming, and he decided to stick to his inn, and perhaps even expand to neighbouring areas. The forest was bustling with life, again.

Thus, enriched with new knowledge, the four warriors bid Avidius farewell, and continued along their journey into the forest.

Unbeknownst to them, Sandikrates, sheriff of a nearby village, followed them into the forest.

The Natrium Trials : Part I

Author's note: I wrote this piece 6-7 years ago when I was still at school. Found it today out of sheer coincidence...Now, I plan to make a series out of it :D...So, here goes...

To

Mr. Sodium Natrium,

s-block,

I Group,

III Period,

Modern Periodic Table.

Date: 22 Sept. 2005

Dear Sir,

It has come to our notice that on 21 September, 2005, under normal conditions, 1 bar pressure, and a recorded temperature of 300.6K, you unprovokedly and illegally attacked Mr. Dihydrogen Oxide (Director of the international confederation of important chemical compounds), also injuring several hundreds of atoms of Mr. Nitrogen, Mr. Oxygen and Mr. Argon in the process.

You are, hereby punished under sections 369, 321(II) of Modern Periodic Law and suspended pending enquiry from the International union of reactive metals. You will be kept under the custody of Mr. Kerosene until your hearing for safety reasons. We seek your full cooperation. A copy of the charges against you has been attached.

Have a nice day.

Xenon Xe,

Elemental law enforcement,

Zero group, VI period,

Modern Periodic Table.

ATTACHED:

The charges leveled against you are:

• A deliberate suicide attack on Mr. Dihydrogen Oxide.

• Injuring 1260 molecules (2164 atoms) of Mr. Nitrogen, Mr. Oxygen, and Mr. Argon.

• Severely disturbing the entropy of the system.

Endless Possibilities...

With the end of the final year, many of my friends have been overcome with feelings of sadness and nostalgia. Almost every day I see a new sentimental message on Facebook, with a number of others liking it. A slew of photo albums invariably titled the by now clichéd expression “Clg Life” have invaded the facebook. It seems like an over-extended "Ekta Kapur Cry series". From the other end where I stand, they all seem way too attached to a place, trying desperately to hold onto something which we always knew was a temporary preparatory phase for the real thing.

What is college life? It is like when a tourist on one of his vacations goes to the Alps, sees a particularly magnificent and beautiful view and hopes that that moment never ends. So, he stands there, clicks photos, and even after going back home can’t get those moments out of his head; but don’t forget; living in the Alps, looking at the wonderful scenery isn’t going to earn you 4 lakhs a year, to have a life, a family, to contribute to society and development of mankind.

Similarly, college life is like a vacation each of us takes, we learn something, we find something beautiful (I am just being metaphorical here :P) and worth remembering, but real life lies ahead, where we work as engineers, scientists, designers, teachers. That is the point of our existence. Not to appreciate the Alps, they are just a diversion, a break, a small sub-chapter in the larger subject of life. The point is to experience each and every aspect of society and mankind and move on to the next, until, there is nothing more left to see.

To me, it is going to be the beginning of the best time of my life. I may seem like a "Cold-hearted bastard" and maybe I truly am one. It has already happened to me twice. On leaving school, I was way too happy to get emotional like my other friends. This is because, I have always wanted to be treated as a mature adult, to have a job, to engage in discussions related to politics, economy, and work over dinner at parties, just like adults do. Until now, people have never taken me seriously, which makes me regret my present status as a student. So, each transition makes me even more excited.

Likewise, there are two ways of looking at what we have had in the last 4 years. One is that we keep looking back at the path and end up tripping ahead, or take a final glance, smile, and move on. Personally, though it is a hard choice, I prefer the second option.

To top it, I have found that "moving on" comes naturally to me. I do not get emotionally attached with people. Except for 4-5 of them, I rarely talk to any of my school friends; that after having studied together for 12 straight years. I actually feel rather uncomfortable around them, since I have absolutely nothing worthwhile to talk about with them. I have only returned once to my school of 12 years, just to obtain my leaving certificate. I am pretty sure that I may never return to SVNIT.

This is not to say that I will completely cut-off this phase of my life. I will remain in contact with some of the best friends that I have made here. But for all of my friends, my only advice is to remember me as I am right now, and cherish those memories. It is inevitable that I will be a changed man the next time we meet, as all of us will be. The point is to not forget the person you originally befriended. If you do that, it will clear you of unnecessary anguish. If you are the overtly touchy-feely type, well bask in your misery.

So, dear tourist, even though it is beautiful, you will eventually get bored of looking at the Alps. So stop holding on to that memory. Learn to let go, because the real beauty of life lies in its endless, unpredictable possibilities. Embrace this fact. May you all, Live Long And Prosper.