The Deadly Lightning

I have a collection of wallpapers of lightning bolts. I have even seen lightnings before. But only once, have I seen the lightning strike so near.

I was in the car, heading towards the Shankarangovil station to catch the train for Chennai. It was around 6 in the evening. Dark clouds chased away the bright orange evening clouds. I knew...... It was going to rain. It started with a drop, then two, three and within a few minutes it was pouring. The car was running on a crooked road, the surrounding was eerie yet pleasant. Either side of the road were fields, spreading far till my eyes could reach. I opened the window to feel the sandy tang in the air. The breeze was cool and the sky was dark blue in colour. The car was filled with people's chatters. But not so loud.

All of a sudden, a fierce bolt struck the vast field. It nearly touched the earth. The sky was divided into two and it was no longer blue, but was violet. The lightning almost blinded my eyes and for a second I couldn't see anything. Everyone was startled and the air was dead silent. No longer, a roaring sound broke the silence. The sky was still violet and the sound of the thunder was echoing in my ears. For a few minutes, no one did nothing in the car, except for the driver who slowed down the speed and we were moving in a rather low speed.

"What was that?" My sister ended the silence. Very soon, everything was back to normal, everybody was back to their chat. Except for me. I had never seen the lightning strike so near.

There were many lightnings even after the very first terrifying one but none was as scaring as the first strike.

Diamond Studded Sky

Night sky according to me was dark with a moon and few stars here and there. I had always wondered why night sky is not like the one I saw in the planetarium, though I knew the reason. I had always longed to see a sky, full of stars. My wish was fulfilled. Let me tell you how it was.

It was an as usual night. May be a bit different..... My five-year-old sister and my four-year-old cousin brother screaming in my ears. I was in India for my vacations. With a grammar book clutched in my hands, I lied down on my bed. My sis and bro were busy with video game. We were on the 2nd floor.

Suddenly everything was pitch dark. A power-cut. My little siblings started screaming. I dropped my book, went to them and assured that I was there with them. My father came up running, hearing my brother's relentless cry. It was impossible to console him and I was fed up. I was feeling hot and thought of getting some fresh air out in the veranda. There were two verandas on that floor. One at the front and the other at the back. The one at the front faced the street, so I opened the door and there I was out. The air was fresh and the surrounding was pleasant. Most of the people in the street were out, probably for getting fresh air.

Eventually, I happened to look up. It was an amazing sight. Zillions of stars scattered all over the sky and it was totally different from the boring sky which I usually see. Like the planetarium it was, may be there were even more stars in the sky then, though I couldn't spot any constellation except for the Orion belt....... So bright it was, like the fireworks. For the first time, I saw the sky crowded with so many stars. I never thought that sky had these many stars, each having a silvery gleam like diamond. White, its colour was, not black. The stars were jam-packed that there was apparently no space in between them. I sat there, on the veranda, admiring the sparkling sky.

I had totally forgotten about my siblings. There they were with my father narrating some story to them. In a few minutes, the power was back and the sky was also back to normal. Dark with a moon and few prominent stars here and there. It was a magic, all the stars had disappeared. It came from nowhere and vanished within a second......

Celebrating Freedom

Hi guys! There was a notice in Young World, a magazine by The Hindu for entries of articles on the topic 'What does freedom mean to you?'. This article is to be published on August 18Th for Independence day special. I liked the topic as it was about my Nation, India. Proud to be an Indian!! As I usually like to write, I wrote an article on the given topic also. The word limit was restricted to 100. So I found it very difficult to stick to the limit. Editing work was too tiring as my rough draft was very long, say, may be of 250 words? I think you can well imagine now that it was a really exhausting task for me to reduce it to 100 words. Now also I think it exceeds the limit by few words. I have tried my luck and have sent it to the editor. Wanted to share it with you people also. Hope you find it interesting! Please feel free to express your opinion.

True Freedom

Achievement of Independence by India is a true example of unity. Mahatma Gandhi, the Great Soul, along with many patriots devoted their life to restore independence from the British.

'Unity in Diversity' The patriots, despite of belonging to various religions and societies, had only one identity as 'Indians' which united them. Real freedom is to break away the chains of divisions and be one as a Nation.

But does independence mean merely political freedom? Communal violence, religious disparities, poverty........ All these still exist in India. Friends, let's shed all the difference among us in the name of faith, caste and language and truly unite from heart. Let India achieve her true freedom!