8:45 am:
Mellow sun rays filtering through the branches of the trees across the SSCU backyard...the sky a pale azure, still holding remnants of the early morning's rain..a light drizzle now and then...the sweeper carries on with his task..unaware of the mynah perched on the peepul tree craning its' neck to have a better look at the leaves blowing up in the dust storm generated by the sweeper's broom..raindrops on green shoots...the branches sway to the cool zephyr...people slowly inching into the department..in fours and threes...some lone pairs as well...umbrellas and raincoats form a bizzare pied array, strewn across the main foyer...a typical rainy morning in IISc..
11:45 am:
The rainy morning has given way to a sunny late-morn..the sun is high up in the sky..beads of perspiration reminds one of the sultry nature of late July mornings as the department is abuzz with activity..people are running up and down the staircase...the office staff have long come in...the Prof. with the strident laugh echoes in the first floor corridor...his colleagues join him on some joke..the branches of the peepul hold still...frozen in a single shot...the mynah is pecking onto some seeds gathered below the tree...
1:45 pm:
News of the blasts has reached some...cell phones are suddenly abuzz in a jiffy...in a desperate attempt to contact near and dear ones before the networks are jammed...the tension and urgency in peoples' voices has reached a crescendo...the verbal scapegoating has started...sudenly, everybody is an overnight expert on politics, terrorism, the recent elections, murky games propagandists play in the name of religion, the dismal state of security in the city...et cetera, et cetera...you name it....it was there in some discussion or the other...in internet chatrooms...over cups of lemon teas in the Tea Board....across the corridor...outside the labs...ubiquitously, vehemently...suddenly, it starts pouring..cats and dogs...the trees swaying to the mad downpour...
Meanwhile, the mynah had left its' lair
11:45 am:
The rainy morning has given way to a sunny late-morn..the sun is high up in the sky..beads of perspiration reminds one of the sultry nature of late July mornings as the department is abuzz with activity..people are running up and down the staircase...the office staff have long come in...the Prof. with the strident laugh echoes in the first floor corridor...his colleagues join him on some joke..the branches of the peepul hold still...frozen in a single shot...the mynah is pecking onto some seeds gathered below the tree...
1:45 pm:
News of the blasts has reached some...cell phones are suddenly abuzz in a jiffy...in a desperate attempt to contact near and dear ones before the networks are jammed...the tension and urgency in peoples' voices has reached a crescendo...the verbal scapegoating has started...sudenly, everybody is an overnight expert on politics, terrorism, the recent elections, murky games propagandists play in the name of religion, the dismal state of security in the city...et cetera, et cetera...you name it....it was there in some discussion or the other...in internet chatrooms...over cups of lemon teas in the Tea Board....across the corridor...outside the labs...ubiquitously, vehemently...suddenly, it starts pouring..cats and dogs...the trees swaying to the mad downpour...
Meanwhile, the mynah had left its' lair
1 comment:
Poignant...
Whenever these blasts happen..the optimist inside me hopes for it to be the last but alas!!!
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