Life@IIM Shillong - So far so good and yet to come..

When I walked into the gates of IIM Shillong a year back, I had a dream. A dream to make  the most out of these two years, get a good job, repay my loan, take up challenging tasks unlike my last IT job, rise the corporate ladder, give an interview for a leading newspaper, make my parents proud and others envious, blah blah blah.. Not sure if everyone came with the same intentions but first few weeks into campus and I could see different kinds of people, some smart - some trying to be smart, everyone trying to get noticed and survive the pressure of performance at an IIM.

A term passed by with these dreams being replaced by new ones, to have fun, make the most out of being in Shillong by discovering its natural beauty, make good friends, travel with friends to the remotest possible beauty spots in Meghalaya before leaving this place, talk to people and understand their perspective,, do things differently – no matter how weird or wrong it might look like, learn by yourself – be it in classroom or in life, blah blah blah.. Not sure if everyone saw their dreams changing but one could surely notice the desperation of getting noticed fading away!

I had walked in with dreams but had expected the least; dreams redefined but had only hoped they would come true. Now a year passed by and I am already living most of them. Explored the beauty of Shillong with insatiable hunger still burning inside – from the mystically captivating sacred grooves to the absolute divinity called Cherrapunji, from the adventurous rock climbing in Nongstein to the morning walk in the just beside Smith Village, the journey has been exhilarating. Friends? – Well, there were just 6 in F.R.I.E.N.D.S, but here we have 105, one of their kinds and each one is special (yes, like every child is special)! Friends to rely on, friends to share troubles with, friends to gossip with, friends to bitch about other friends, friends to go on treks, friends to party with, friends to celebrate birthdays with and the list goes endless, because friends are there for just everything.

Learning? – I guess my group mates would be in a better position to comment. I am not sure if they learnt from me or I learnt from them but we all definitely grew together. With one of the awesomest library present, I had a lot to learn from – I used it effectively or not is a different story (anyways we live in the hi-tech world and google has answer for everything). Understanding people and different perspectives? – I bet!!! do you even have an option here. Job? – Oh, I should be last one complaining about it. Already living the dream of many in a top class FMCG company, there is no dearth of challenges, as far as you can take them. Making parents proud? – I guess they already are and the IIM tag will suffice for the dummy community around (this is with the hope that the RG will be dropped sometime soon down the line!). Interview for a leading newspaper? – I guess that still remains a dream but yeah, you should surely have some dreams unfulfilled to motivate you to live on!

Life@IIM Shillong rocks, can’t wait to get back to it!!! :)

Sometimes it takes more than a lifetime..

Samarpan pulled over the car at the petrol pump, the adjacent general store was too attractive to prevent Samruddhi and Samant from running out of the car to fill their pockets and empty their dad’s. Sandhya followed the kids into the store just to keep a check on what they lay their hands on. Sandhya and Samarpan were happily married for fourteen long years now and were enjoying the prime of their lives revolving around their “double dhamaka” kids, as they were called by all their neighbors. Sandhya’s day used to start with waking up the two naughty creatures followed by resolving their conflicts over who goes into the bathroom first, preparing breakfast for them and packing their lunch boxes and listening to them crib over the smell of the milk. Samarpan used to be the perfect partner giving Sandhya a hand for ironing their clothes and helping them get ready for school. Only at 7.00 am when they were off into the school bus, did the two breathe a sigh of relief.

The two kids had made their residence a pleasant house of disorder and disruption. The last time that Samarpan got a packet of chips for them, Sandhya couldn’t control laughing as she saw the two divide it piece by piece counting innocently till the packet was empty. This was a pleasant view indeed before it became violent when Samant hid his plate and claimed he had eaten it all. Poor ignorant Samruddhi offered Samant her share only to realize later that he had actually saved his! What followed was uncontrollable chaos which would bring the whole house down. The same was the scene whether it be dividing Cadbury dairy milk or the butterscotch family pack ice-cream which Samarpan used to get on weekends. It was an unknown joy that they shared while engaging in this childish act.

“Anna, wait. I am coming too”, Samruddhi ran after Samant as he entered into the store.

The store keeper became alert as he saw the two naughty looking kids bring the store down. It took them not more than five minutes to pick what they needed.

“Only one bottle”, Sandhya commanded as she saw Samant struggle to lift the big Coco Cola bottle from the shelf.

Samarpan drove past the petrol pump and honked the horn, “Let us go guys”. The kids rushed towards the car and Sandhya struggled to catch up with both her hands occupied by two full carry bags filled in the past five minutes. Finally they were on the road heading back to their home. Samruddhi had her eyes fixed on the red shining Coke bottle half dangling from the carry bag. It only took a moment for her to open the bottle once they were home.

“Sammu wait. First have lunch, you know Daddy won’t like it if he sees”, Sandhya shouted but to Samruddhi’s inattention to her mother’s warnings.

As Samarpan entered the house, he saw both Samruddhi and Samant sitting on the table with two glasses side by side and pouring in Coke trying to match the level in the two glasses. He could nothing but smile at the not so new scene and told Sandhya to serve food for him.

At a tender age of 10 Samruddhi was too small to understand the concept of sharing and at 13 Samant was not so big so as to accommodate Samruddhi’s innocence by compromising on his share.

Another addictive game which they played was ‘who hits the last’, as Sandhya used to call it! It started with one of the two hitting the other for some reason which followed till one has given up or has been given some incentive by their mother to stop the silliness. The winner of the fight, as a common agreement, was the one who hit the last, which led to the incentives becoming unattractive at times during peak stages of the fight. Such fights even turned violent and ultimately ended with loud cries of “I hate you” from the losing party and “You don’t love me, you always take his/her side” (for their mummy) from the winning party, after Sandhya is forced to intervene.

With friends and families, experiences and exasperations, joys and sorrows, achievements and adjustments, their life was going on happily in the homely city of Nagpur.

A couple of years passed by and the kids grew up, but only in size and age. Their actions still remained the same, be it dividing dairy milk or hitting each other till one gives up.

“Stop it you two, just look at yourself. You grown up morons!”, Sandhya was at her brink today. The fight started over the TV remote and had moved on to who will sit on the Sofa which ultimately turned violent and ended up being the ‘who hits the last’ drama. Samant gave a hard blow to Samruddhi and ran out of the house with his bicycle keys, ignoring his mother’s scoldings and Samruddhi’s wining.

“Sshhhhh.. Don’t cry Sammu, we will give him good scolding once he is back”, Sandhya tried to pacify Samruddhi, though helplessly. After an hour or two the house had calmed down. It was 7:00 in the evening and it was just about time when Samant used to come back after playing with the neighbor’s kids. Samruddhi had just gotten up from the ‘cry cry and go to sleep’ nap following the fight.

“I don’t care, I will hit him when he comes back. You hold him for me”, Samruddhi said in a sheepish tone half asleep half awake.

Just then the telephone bell rang and Sandhya got up to answer it. She said a silent “Hello” followed by a high pitched “What” and then waited silently for the other end to finish. Samruddhi could only hear “Hmmm” for the rest of the conversation from this end and got up and held her mother as she saw tears rolling down her cheeks with every “Hmmm”. The phone slid from Sandhya’s hand as she sat down uncontrollably and started crying. A cry such loud that Samruddhi had never seen her mother in this state before. She knew something was wrong but she hesitated to ask. She did not have the courage to ask or rather to hear. She heard the doorbell ring, the sound never seemed so harsh. As she opened the door, Samarpan stood there with eyes red and wet and a straight face of lost hope, he quietly laid down Samant’s body soaked in blood on the bed in the front room.

“Daddy, what happened to Anna?” Samruddhi asked silently with tears rolling down her cheeks. Sandhya broke down on seeing the body, she held him hard, shouted cries of “Wake up”, shouted hard as if for God to hear and have pity on her. Her world had ended. Looking at her mother, Samruddhi also started crying. “Get up Anna, Mummy is crying. Get up.”, she hit him hard, she had been waiting to do this for long to win the game. Ultimately she had won; Samant would not be getting up to return the strike. She promised God she would never ever hit him again just let him come back once. She saw her mother and father in utter despair and started crying helplessly.

Sandhya came running towards the room and turned the lights on.

“What happened Sammu? I am here, nothing’s wrong.”, Sandhya tried to soothe her.

“Anna is not yet back, we will hit him don’t worry, I will help you”, Sandhya said calmly.

Samruddhi realized she was on the bed, she hugged her mother and started crying louder.

“Shhhh, Shhh. Sammu, what happened dear?”

Samruddhi tried to calm down. She couldn’t recollect the dream, except her mother crying and Samant lying on the bed drenched in blood. She was more than glad for having learnt her lesson in the dream.

“Nothing Maa, I don’t want to hit Anna. I promised God.”

Sandhya comforted her as Samruddhi laid her head down in her mother’s warm lap.

“I love you Maa”, Samruddhi said innocently. “I also love Anna and Daddy a lot”.

“We love you too Beta”, Sandhya did not understand where this was coming from but did not know how else to respond.

Samruddhi wasn’t sure why she said that. That one dream made her realize the importance of those inseparable people with whom we share our entire lives without imagining how it would have been without them! People we know we love and cannot live without but don’t remember the last time when we had told them so. Guess Samruddhi did not want to take another chance to live with that regret.

(Dedicated to all those loved ones and the most special relationship of brother and sister without which childhood would never have been so full of fun, frolic and excitement)

I am not a commodity for God's sake!

Published in The Viewspaper.. http://theviewspaper.net/i-am-not-a-commodity-for-god%E2%80%99s-sake/. This one is Direct Dilse and it was not easy putting this one on paper!

Maria, age 10, had just returned from school when her parents told her that she was being sent to the city to work as a maid in a big house. That meant an end to her life of struggle and a life of luxury here after. She was very happy and excited to live in the city, earn her own living, support her family and make them proud. But that happiness was very short lived, until she realized that she was actually taken away to a dark house and forced to become a sex slave. There are many such Marias leading this dark life, having lost their identity and any hope of getting it back. It is time to wake up for those who think that slavery has vanished from our society or is prevalent only in the remotest parts of Africa. According to a research carried out by Free the Slaves, an organization which works towards banishing this evil from our society, the number of slave today are the highest as compared to any point in history, 80% of which are women and girls and 50% being minors. It is disheartening to see that those who should be playing with dolls are clearing becoming prostrate dolls caged in a life of despair.

Human trafficking, rightly called as the modern day slavery has taken an ugly form today, with the United Nations estimating it to be a $32 billion revenue generating business per year, making it the top company in the Fortune 500 list! Countries like Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, China and Nepal rank high on the supply side while Belgium, Germany, Japan, Brazil, Thailand and the US rank high on the demand side. Considering the fact that even with such a strict federal policing US has not been able to curb this evil, it raises apprehensions over the people responsible in some or the other way for human trafficking nurture in the society today. Right from passport offices to airport officials, there is corruption and dubious operation at many levels which has helped this evil to prevail. It is disappointing to see that humans are part of such a demeaning crime which doesn’t treat humans as humans but some commodity for trade.

Human trafficking has had victims of a tender age of 6 years! An age where children struggle to learn A B C D and mathematical tables, are as innocent as a lamb, averse from this selfish world, are forced into the cruelty of life. Most of the victims contract STDs, HIV/AIDS, develop suicidal tendencies, post-traumatic stress syndrome and completely lose hope of living. An estimated 30,000 victims die of abuse, disease and torture each year. Forget about the world, even in India nearly 7000 Nepali girls are sold every year into the red light district and they are as young as just 9 years! Sadly we have not been able to do anything to prevent it.

There has been a long standing debate on whether to legalize prostitution in India or not. Though many argue that our society is not yet ready for it but people fail to understand is that whether we are ready or not, the fact remains that it is very much existing in our society today. By legalizing it we can bring in reforms that will prevent forced prostitution which will hinder human trafficking and save many innocent lives. Also, through legalization we can prevent the spread of diseases by issuing license to only the fit people. And needless to say, they will get a position of respect in the society and will be able to live their lives with dignity.

Separate Telangana - An endless Saga

Published in The Viewspaper http://theviewspaper.net/separate-telangana-%E2%80%93-an-endless-saga/

Introduction

I was standing in the balcony of my house, having tea and thinking of today’s day of work, when I saw Mr. Sharma’s kids playing on the road in front of our building. It not being a Sunday, this was a rare sight and so I curiously asked them why they were not at school. The reply which came made me feel dumb, as it was not something that I hadn’t heard of in the past few days and should have easily guessed, “Telangana Bandh”. For us, office goers, it meant no roadside food stalls in breaks, no restaurants for lunch, most importantly no buses, no autos or I might say few high charging auto drivers to take us to office. This has become a regular occurrence in Hyderabad and needless to say, a painful one.

Historical Background

The history of Telangana issue goes way back to 1953 when the States Reorganization Committee was formulating the division of Indian states on the basis of linguistic grounds. With a rich resource base but less developed economy, people of Telangana were not very keen on a common telugu speaking state for fear of exploitation. After a lot of considerations and arguments, it was decided to go with a larger state for the time being with promises and constitutional safeguards made for the prevention of any injustice against the people of Telangana. Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister termed it as a matrimonial alliance with a “provision for divorce”!

As feared, the alliance never worked, with Telangana facing the brunt of exploitation in every field. Since then there have been continuous requests, protests and movements by those wanting a separate state, followed by guarantees and promises, committees and constitutional amendments by those proposing to stay together. One such violent protest was during 1969 which had to be stopped by army action.

Post 2004 protests

Just when the separate Telangana emotion had subsided, the political parties in Telangana made it the driving wave for their electoral campaigns and thus came the emergence of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS). In November 2009, TRS president K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) went on a fast unto death demanding a separate state of Telangana. There after it lead to chaos in Andhra Pradesh assembly, with pro Telangana MLAs resigning on any move which went against the formation of separate Telangana and MLAs from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema resigning on any move towards division of states. Many cases of suicide among pro Telangana students of Osmania University were reported to pressurize the government further.

Srikrishna Committee

To find an ultimate solution to the issue, a committee was setup in December 2010 to study the entire situation and propose a long term solution to this problem. The committee came up with six solutions, two preferred solutions being, keeping the state united or bifurcation of the states with Hyderabad as the capital of Telangana and a new capital for coastal Andhra. After so much of struggling and trouble shooting, we were back to square one with no party agreeing upon any solution and the protests and Bandhs continuing till date. It has not just disrupted the common man’s life but also caused a lot of revenue loss to the government.

Points of contention

The two major rivers, Krishna and Godavari have always been a major reason of grievance, with Telangana never being happy by the allocation of water to their region. Another point of contention is the government jobs in Hyderabad being taken up by people from coastal Andhra and their students bagging most of the seats in prestigious educational institutes. Though these are of concern to common public, but not so much for someone to commit suicide.

A game of politics

From a bird’s-eye-view, in the end everything appears to be a game of politics. People of Telangana are hoping to get power by formation of a separate state, while people of coastal Andhra dread diluting their position of power. The developed state of Hyderabad has become the major bone of contention for being a rich source of revenue and the immense employment opportunities that it provides. Forget about the concept of global world, what happened to the concept of “May the best man wins”?

Hyderabad being the biggest IT hub after Bangalore, it has a large base of non-telugu speaking people working with software giants and other multinationals. If they decide not to risk their lives and move away from Hyderabad, this would soon be followed by multinational organizations which are already re-considering their plans of setting up new offices in Hyderabad. This would ultimately lead to loss of the revenue these politicians are craving for. It is high time the government takes some stringent measures to prevent this from happening. Started by politics and aggravated by politics, we will never be able to find a solution to this seemingly endless problem unless active and constructive politics overtakes selfish needs.

Tourism Pollution - A crisis

Published in The Viewspaper http://theviewspaper.net/tourism-pollution-%E2%80%93-a-crisis/, a painful saga of the side effects of tourism, emphasizing the need for "sustainable" tourism in India..

Tourism- A tainting treasure

With rich natural vegetation, flora and fauna, long stretching water bodies and snowcapped mountains, an enthralling history and an unparalleled cultural diversity, India is a tourist attraction for many national as well as international tourism enthusiasts. Unfortunately with the growing number of people flocking these places of natural beauty, it is adversely affecting our environment. Littering of tourist places, the upcoming hotels and resorts at the cost of trees, the growing transport and air pollution have collectively led to the degradation of environment at many tourist attractions. As an Indian and more so, as a responsible human being, it is our moral duty to protect our environment from any such harm.

The tarnishing Taj

Our most treasured monument, Taj Mahal which we proudly refer to as the seventh Wonder of the World has been one of the biggest victim to this rising pollution. The fine white-marble monument built as a symbol of love is turning unpleasantly yellow due to the air borne particles from the surrounding oil refineries and the increasing traffic. Attracting around 300,000 visitors every year, this gigantic monument was completed in 1648 after 17 years of construction by 20,000 workers whose hands were cut off to prevent its duplication in future. Today, it is disheartening to see that many of the second time visitors have already started noticing the marks on this aging beauty built with such relentless dedication. To cut back on pollution, government has taken measures under which, cars and buses are prohibited from driving too close to the Taj Mahal. Visitors are supposed to park their vehicles about one and a half miles away and then take horse-drawn carriages to reach the monument. A non-corrosive and non-abrasive clay pack treatment is being carried out to remove deposits of particles on the marble which is estimated to cost around $230,000.

From tranquility to turmoil

A decade back, people used to travel to Shimla to spend a peaceful vacation in the beautiful valleys and snow clad peaks, away from the scorching heat of summer. But all that is left now are crowded places, congested traffic on roads, heaps of litter and diminishing vegetation. Same is the case with Mussourie, Manali, Rishikesh and many other tourist places. The surge in number of pilgrims has brought in considerable pollution. Ganga and Yamuna, two of our precious rivers are reeling under high levels of pollution. The rising level of pollution has raised many eyes and now people have started adopting eco-tourism to prevent the degradation of our most valuable resource – the nature.

Sustainable tourism – Need for the day

Conservation of natural resources is one concern, but the immediate concern is to tackle the harm caused by the increasing number of tourists. The littering of the once clean Juhu beach of Mumbai is not new but somehow we have not been able to find a solution for it yet. Environmentalists have insisted on solutions like burning or burying of paper and taking away non degradable polybags to ensure proper disposable of wastes. But such solutions are always easy to suggest and difficult to implement.

Mawlynnong is a remote village hidden in the greens in Meghalaya. This small place located at around 90km from Shillong is known as “The cleanest Village in Asia”. The residents of this picturesque village have learnt to live at harmony with Mother Nature and are a very good example which the urban folks should emulate. With the sustainable bamboo dustbins, separate compost pits for organic and inorganic wastes, ban on use of polythene and smoking, public toilets maintained by the villagers themselves, ritual of sweeping and cleaning of the gardens and roads every evening, this place is spick and span in every respect. Even the children there are taught from an early age to keep their surroundings clean and they don’t hesitate to pick up the odd piece of garbage on the road and put it in the bin.

This realization and seriousness is the need of the day. If this can be achieved then we sure will be able to preserve our country’s rich tourism from degradation.

Scotland of the East - Shillong

My first article on The Viewspaper http://theviewspaper.net/scotland-of-the-east-%E2%80%93-shillong/, on the place I manage to fall in love with every time I am depressed, whenever I am alone...

The city of Shillong

Located in the North-East in the state of Meghalaya, about 5000 feet above sea level, the city of Shillong is captivating with its alluring beauty and its rich Khasi culture. Characterized by rugged hills, dense forest and lush green valleys and highlands, this place is rightly called the Scotland of the East. With the first rays of the sun falling, it wakes up every morning, dressed in mist and clouds to give its companions the most memorable experience ever with nature. With a rich flora and fauna and the usually low temperatures in summer due to its hilly terrain, it acts as a perfect paradise for people trying to shy away from the scorching heat of the summers. Also known for the heavy rainfall belt of Cherrapunjee and Mawsynram this place is a must visit for every Indian once in their lifetime.

Journey to Shillong

While joining IIM Shillong for doing my MBA, I planned to reach Shillong a good three days early to take my parents across this exotic place and enjoy a long awaited family vacation.  Known for its beautiful lakes and waterfalls, the journey started with the stretch of Barapani Lake along the way from Guwahati to Shillong. With their surrounding sylvan hills and grassy down, the place is a treat with idyllic picnic settings. After spending some time enjoying nature and the exciting water sports like kayaking and water skiing, we continued on our journey to reach Shillong before sunset. After a long tiring day, all we could do was make arrangements for the next day’s tour of Shillong city and take a peaceful nap.

Places to visit

Excited to explore the city, we got up early the next day and headed towards our first spot – the Elephant falls and the Shillong peak. The two level waterfalls with fresh milky water gushing down with a roaring sound will force you to freeze the frame and hold on to that moment for eternity. The water at the foot of the falls was chilling yet we could not stop ourselves from stepping into it to experience that thrill. While returning we stopped at Shillong peak to get a view of the city of Shillong covered in dense fog and enjoy the fresh air gushing through our faces.

Our next stop was the Wards Lake. The century old, world famous artificial lake located at the heart of the city is extremely popular for its garden walks and boating. Though we could not spend much time there but the beauty of the place is worth mentioning. Next we went to the Don Bosco museum. The museum has well laid out galleries containing artifacts, paintings, fibreglass figures, emanating knowledge effectively through art. By the end of the day, I was amazed at how perfect a blend of beauty and culture was the city of Shillong.

The Paradise called Cherrapunji

The next day we planned to take a full day trip to Cherrapunji. We went well protected, expecting a heavy bout of showers. The first thing that caught our attention was the clean, fresh look that the region wore. With majestic mountains kissing the snowy clouds, and the gushing stream of sparkling water in the fall, Cherrapunji was beauty personified. We passed by many waterfalls enroute stopping at a few.  Standing atop thousands of feet at the mouth of one such waterfall, I felt invigorated and allowed myself to forget all the anxieties of the days to come. Our next stop was Mawsmai caves. At the outset, we found the cave unwelcoming, given their low roof and dark and damp environment. But just as our feet touched the cool water in the cave, we were infused with a sense of exploration and were amazed at how the rocks and water led us on until we reached the end of the cave. We continued to our next spot- the Eco Park, created by the Government of Meghalaya. We lost ourselves in the fragrance of the multi-hued flowers and admired the ecological aspect of the attraction. We stayed for a while, wonderstruck at how a place could be so impeccable. The sun started to set behind the hills, and it was time for us to leave. Despite the fact that it did not rain at all during our visit, we were soaked in the beauty of Cherrapunji- A paradise indeed!

For Food and Fashion

The vacation at Shillong was made all the more special with its unique cuisine and fresh fruits. Known for its rich meat especially pork, we really liked a spicy preparation of rice and pork cooked in the traditional Khasi style. Also we couldn’t get enough of the tasty Momos which forms a special part of the Meghalayan cuisine. And the fresh pineapple, plum and peaches were something that we had never experienced back home.

What makes the trip to Shillong an amazing experience is an insight into the rich culture of this place. Driven by the matriarchal system, people in Shillong are extremely helpful and accommodating. An interesting fact which came to our notice was that drivers here don’t honk horns and hardly overtake in spite of the heavy traffic. The city closes down at 8.00 and wakes up early with the sun. They lead a disciplined life living in peace with the nature.

Shillong is a treat for shopaholics. From fashionable items to handicrafts to guitars, it has an extensive range in all items. You have to get on to the streets of Police Bazaar at least once to see the wide range of fashionable clothes, winter wears and accessories at minimal prices. Rightly called as the Rock City of India, it houses high quality guitars at reasonable prices. We couldn’t stop ourselves from spending a few bucks for a special handicraft showpiece and hand bag for my mother and an electric guitar for my brother.

Fly to Heaven

The only troubling part of this journey is the remote location of the city. We travelled by train for around 36 hours from Hyderabad to Kolkata, followed by Kolkata to Guwahati and then finally a three hour road journey to Shillong. On contemplation, I think a flight for the same route would have been much more convenient and time saving than the train. In spite of all this, the three days at Shillong made it appear all worth and the satisfaction became deeper after the initial struggle. As it is rightly said, the joy of reaching the destination increases proportionally to the difficulties faced during the journey. Our stay at Shillong was so fulfilling that I would happily be willing to take this journey again and again.

Never managed to cross it.. Did I!

Few days back I wrote this.. And here I am again, at the crossroads of life..

Blessed was I to walk into this world,

In hands which cared and caressed me all times,

‘Papa, papa’, a distant voice I could hear,

I wanted to respond, but had to wait so long.

I stumbled and I walked and then walked too far,

Now when I turn, I see nothing but despair,

I wish I could go back to the same old days,

Into the tenderness of her love and care.

Rugged as I may look, so am I from inside,

Wish I could keep the selfish desires aside,

Free like a bird I want to fly again,

Wish I could get back my wings for the ride.

Folded those wings, to get another flight,

Not sure though, if it is right after all,

Entrapped in my own shell I want to break out,

To breathe again, and to live some more!