A Fair Deal

"50 Rs! Nothing more than that!"

Raju said with Paulo Coelho's new 'Eleven Minutes' clutched in his hand, staring at the store keeper.

"Boss! I bring books to make a living, how can I sell it to you at a price that I bought it for ?"

Questioned back the keeper while his helper boy looked the other way.

"Everything is fair,If this book was original he'd have blindly given 300 Rs, and you know its

pirated right ? its ok! its a straight deal! First you asked 150 and now you are asking 70! Quite

flexible you are, no problem, give it for 50!" Arun added, who stood beside Raju.

"Atleast 60 boss" he persisted!

"50 is final" Raju finalized.

"Ok! take it!" came the words with a sigh.

Raju pulled out a note of 50 Rs and gave it to keeper and both Raju and Arun started walking away.

After they covered few hundred yards, shopkeeper turned to his helper and grinned " Idiots man! I bought all these books for just 25 Rs and I still made 100% profit".

And hundred yards away Arun started grinning, "Why do you laugh?" Raju asked!. Arun pulled out one more book from his bag and said " I flicked this when you were arguing.. He He! We cost him 50 more bucks man!"

Submitted By: Sameer A M, VII CS, SJCE

In Love

To be or not to be? So said Shakespeare she thought. Would it be okay? Would it be a mistake? Was that a compliment? Or just a bland observation? Is he just flirting? Or is he actually concerned? Was that a touch knowing or unknowing? Does he find me attractive? Maybe he didn’t even notice the new earrings! Am I in love? Or this just a phase in this pathetic routine I call life? Miserable as she was haunted by thoughts that would disturb the mighty Lord himself, she put on a nonchalant air about her, confidently joining him as they made their way towards their favorite spot in the sleepy little town.
The sun had already risen but the misty morning air refused to wake up the surroundings. Dawn had just set in and he seemed busy contemplating the flora n fauna than anything to do with her.
Splendid nature awaited her praises but she only waited for his attention. As they sat beside each other in that picturesque setting excruciating minutes passed with nil conversation. Finally she threw caution to the winds and rested her aching head on his inviting shoulders and closed her eyes savoring the moment of bliss.
But to her astonishment and wonder his right arm enclosed her tiny frame in an awkward but sure motion. In that second the universe stopped as realization hit. They were in love…… :)

Submitted By: Pavithra K, 7th sem CS, SJCE Mysore.

Just Imagine

Its 2am in the morning. You're on the tenth floor of a building. Working away late into the night on your laptop. Alone in your bedroom. Sitting on the bed, feeling cold. You're tired, stressed, hungry. Abandoning the laptop, you walk over to your table, rummage in your bag. You find a chocolate, a whole bar of dark chocolate- unopened, uneaten. You take a bite and you savor the bitter-sweet taste of it, its relishing. You reach over and pull up the curtains. Its dark outside, but only just. You can see the orange glow of the street lights below, tiny specks of light shining through the numerous windows of the many buildings around- like stars suspended in mid-air. Speaking of stars, you look up at the sky- its hardly visible. Finishing the chocolate, you venture out of your room. There's no one around. Gathering courage (even though your heart is inevitably beating faster and you are scared) you climb the stairs, 2, 3, 4 storeys higher and you reach the terrace door. You push it open and walk in. Its cold up there. Very cold. Chilling. You're in your pajamas, no blazer, no sweater. You start shivering. You look up at the sky. Its clear, its black (not pitch-black though) and the stars are numerous but not innumerable. Countable maybe; you think. You look at the moon. Its bright and thin. Like those perfectly shaped nails just cut with a nailcutter (the crescent shape). Strange, you wonder. The comparison.You stare at the sky, start counting the stars. And then you see it!!. Right where you are looking. A Shooting Star!! Very bright, suddenly materializing from nowhere. Its big at first, rapidly descending, leaving a trail behind and reducing in size until it disappears- suddenly just like it appeared.You silently make a wish. Someday, maybe years later, you realize the wish has come true. And then you think of that night- the room, the chocolate, the cold, the terrace, the Shooting Star..!!

Wishing you these and many more such experiences. Cheers.!

Submitted By: Chaitra.S, E&E , SJCE Mysore

Imagine...

A clear sky, just before sunset (early dusk), tall trees all around, Gulmohar, Banyan and the like, ground covered with grass and those red-yellow petals from the gulmohar, big rocks lying hear and there and to complete the perfection, a brook noisily running over all kinds of pebbles: big, small; smooth, rough; brown, green; round, oval;(every kind imaginable). The water is crystal clear.

There's a cool breeze..You wander into this place, barefoot. You can feel the grass, the softness and the gentle coolness of it; you here the chirping of birds (given the hour, there's a lot of it), you reach out and touch one of the trees, the bark is cold, damp; you look up and spot a nest on one of its lower branches- its beautiful. Maybe there are eggs in it, maybe there aren't. Your hand smells like the damp earth just after a seasons first rain. You walk around, picking up those red petals and the rare complete flower fallen from the Gulmohar. The breeze ruffles your hair, ever so gently.

You sit on one of those rocks, just by the brook and dawdle your hands in the water: its refreshingly cold; you splash it on your face- its chilling and yet strangely relaxing. You can hear the crock of frogs somewhere in the distance. The reddish sky is stretched overhead like some tight canvas roof of a tent full of trees and grass and birds and flowers and pebbles and brooks. You can see the setting sun on the horizon. Its tranquil. You sit there, alone, contented, at peace with the world. And then you spot her. A deer, cautiously approaching the brook, right opposite to you, Golden, with dark spots, light and agile. Those eyes, those black eyes, they stare at you. You sit there- motionless, breathless. She comes closer, bends, drinks from the brook. She's so near, you can almost smell her. Having finished, she straightens, another of those stares and then she's off, leaping. You keep looking until she has disappeared over the horizon. PICTURE PERFECT.

Submitted By: Chaitra.S, E&E, SJCE Mysore