Freelance Talents Championship 2018 Winners

Himanshu Mishra (FTC 2018 Winner)

Chandresh Kumar Chhatlani (Runner-up: Silver)

Dhruv Singh (Runner-up: Bronze)

Details - Nazariya Now Website

Top 10 - FTC 2018

Top 10 stories (Freelance Talents Championship 2018)

1. परित्यक्ता

2. आत्मा का वस्त्र

3. मौन विलाप

4. मौत का घर

5. तोता-मैना की नयी कहानी

6.  इंतज़ार

7. निकिता

8. हट जा रे खड़ूस

9.  बड़ी चप्पल है

10. पहचान

Round 2 - Team # 23 (Vibhuti & Manan) #ftc1516

*) - Desiderata

Chapter I

The Corsair and The Clairvoyant

The man with hazel eyes, ruddy complexion, and a harsh face threw a pouch of gold coins on the floor. He was ‘Captain’ Longinus Lawless, the infamous corsair who operated off the Frankish coast, a seasoned naval mercenary and, the terror of the seas.

“Where is it, the fabled treasure of Desiderata*, O clairvoyant?”, he asked the woman in front of him.

The woman was Philomena, the fortune teller. Some called her reincarnation of the oracle of Delphi, while some considered her a witch, not only because she was thought to be practising occult, but also because of her bewitching beauty. No one knew her age. One would think she had been around forever.

She gazed deeply into the magical glistening crystal on the ornate table in front of her, and announced: “to the east for the island of Avalon you must go but beware the misty deep waters hold your worst nightmares.”

*Latin for ‘things to be desired’. 

Chapter II

The Flying Dutchman!

Along with a ragtag crew of fifty, united solely by greed, Captain Longinus set sail in Lumière, a magnificent ship he captured years ago. “Eastward, ho!”, Longinus commanded. The ship, propelled by the crew comprising of oriental Lascars and Gaelic Celts, begin to glide. With clear blue skies, meandering frothy waves rolling off on the emerald ocean, and mild breeze, everything seemed to go off on a good start.

For the next seven days and seven nights they sailed and sailed. On the eighth day, an enormous tsunami arose, bringing with the Kraken- the sea monster. The nautical myths of yore were true. The seamen directed all their ammunition towards fending off the monster. Firepower failed to subdue it in the slightest, and it begun to approach the Lumière. Everyone felt their end was near. Few ever escaped post-encounter with a Kraken.

Just then, they heard the loud rumbling sounds of a propeller. A giant ship, of vintage design emerged out of the thin mists. It looked very unreal, flickering like a projection. The monster was extremely terrified of it and dived quickly into the waters, and did not emerge back. The crewmen of Lumière looked at the ship with a deep sense of gratitude in their eyes. The ship had on its hull written: ‘THE FLYING DUTCHMAN’. In nautical folklore it was said to have been lost to the sea while on an expedition to recover the Desiderata several centuries ago.

Captain Longinus ordered his men to fire eleven rounds of cannon to thank and salute their saviour. After the ceremony was over, the phantom ship flickered on for a few more minutes, and then slowly disappeared back into the void it came from. 

Chapter III

Cargo Discharged

The sea is fickle. One fine morning, the weather suddenly turned inclement. The skies turned dark with a terrible tempest raging on, with bucketfuls of rain. The ship rolled on the giant waves like a paper boat in a murky stream. Soon, the situation seemed despairing for the rovers, who were busy emptying the ship off of water lest it flood it. By noon when the rains stopped and the storm passed away, the damage was done. The crewmembers were forced to throw away plenty of goods on board into the sea to lighten the ship, and this included their already reduced rations.

Longinus tried to bravely keep the spirits of his men up, who were clearly discontented with his leadership. The entire expedition had begun to seem very pointless to them, with the prospect of starvation looming over their collective heads. On being demanded to turn back, Longinus, however insisted they keep on sailing forward. The crew then hatched a nefariously desperate scheme. A burden had to be offloaded.

Captain Longinus Lawless was made to walk the plank by coercion. He soon found himself gasping for breath in the sea, and his pleas for rescue were met with laughter and jeers. His men have had enough of him.

Lumière turned back in the direction of the nearest port, which was hundreds of nautical miles away.

Chapter IV

Desiderata

He did not know for how long he tried to swim. At some point, he must have closed his eyes and surrendered to the water which eagerly plunged into his lungs. Yet his eyes were now open and he saw a darkly lit room in which there were mounds of gold bullions and coins, precious gems, and assorted jewels. Was he conscious or was he dreaming? Just then a familiar feminine voice entered his ears.

“Ah, so you have awakened!”, said Philomena, the clairvoyant. Longinus looked at her with disbelief. “You are where you wanted to be, in the presence of what you desired for. You are in Avalon, with riches lying in front of you”, she replied. He had begun to find her very mysterious.

“You washed ashore, as if it were meant to be. I need to show you something.” She asked him to see outside the window where there were hundreds of graves. “These are the resting places of the ones who came in search of Desiderata. No one returned alive”, she paused, and looked at him. “The real Desiderata is not gold, or diamond. It is what is inside you. What you seek is within.” Saying this, Philomena disappeared like she was never there.

Longinus pinched himself in the cheek, looked at the treasure lying around him, and the burial mounds. He stepped outside and sat down on the sands. The unending expanse of the sea, and the vast crimson skies seemed to smile at him. There was not a ship in sight. Perhaps there will appear one on the horizon to take him back, or not. It didn’t matter. The waters had washed his soul clean.

He was home.

                                                            END.

 ======================================

  I liked how well divided up this is...Nice job with the vernacular and character development within 1000 words but there were few loose ends and after 3 exciting chapters, all that building, the climax is kind of anti-climactic. Mesmerizing artwork!

Rating - 139/200

Total points after 2 Rounds - 283/400 Points

Judge - Mohit Trendster

Round 1 - Team # 12 (Frank & Mark)

Herd Mentality 

There was once a herd of sheep grazing in a field near a cliff. As they were happily ingesting the blades of grass, they saw a group of dark figures heading toward them. 

One sheep cried, “Wolves! Wolves!” The entire group panicked, and, being sheep, they ran in the opposite direction, toward the cliff. They reached the edge, and stood there waiting for their inevitable demise. 

All of a sudden, the sheep heard a mighty roar in the distance. The dark figures froze for a few minutes, and then retreated.

“Hooray! We’re saved!” cried one sheep.

“We must thank the one who saved us!” cried another.

As they rejoiced, a might lion strolled casually toward the group.

“Are you the one who saved us?” declared the sheep.

“No, I did not save you. It was the Great Lion who lives in the sun,” said the lion.

The sheep began dancing around, all the while praising the Great Lion. They begged the mighty lion to escort them to a nearby field, and he agreed. He watched over them throughout the night.

The next morning, the lion gathered all the sheep together. 

“Last night, the Great Lion appeared to me in a dream. He saved your lives, and in return, he demands a sacrifice. We must go back to the cliff upon which you were liberated and offer up three of your lives,” the lion demanded authoritatively. 

At first, the sheep were frightened, but they were so grateful to the Great Lion that they agreed. He led them to the cliff once more, and three sheep stepped forward.

“Do not be afraid,” the lion roared. “You will go to be with the Great Lion forever."

The lion took the three sheep and led them to the very edge of the cliff. The others watched while the lion began conducting the rite, preparing them for the sacrifice. 

As they watched, a hungry pack of wolves advanced toward them. The sheep were so busy praising the Great Lion that they didn’t notice. They flanked the group, and gobbled up the sheep one by one. The others were oblivious to what was going on, and the wolves continued until there were none left.

“Thanks for the tasty meal, lion,” said the leader of the pack. “You were right. Sneaking in undetected proved to be much more fruitful than charging in and eating only the slowest. It was a great setup. How did you do it?”

“I told them they had been saved by the ‘Great Lion,’” he said sarcastically. “They were so thankful that they would do anything I told them to do. I had them so fooled that they were willing to throw themselves over the cliff if I told them it was the will of the ‘Great Lion.’”

The pack broke into laughter at this, and the lion laughed heartily with them. “The oldest trick in the book. As we agreed, this entire domain is yours,” said the leader. “I hope we can do business again.”

Moral:

Don’t let authorities fool you into doing things that defy common sense. If you aren’t careful, they can and will manipulate you, sometimes for their own gain, sometimes for a laugh. 

------------------------------

"Herd Mentality" by Franz Heiner & Mark Trump 

Rating - 136/200

Judge Mr. Mayank Sharma

FTC 2013 - Final Standings

Champion: Kapil Chandak (Captain Kapil)

Runner-up: Mohit Sharma (Trendster)

Bronze Medalist - Siddhant Shekhar

Semi Finalist - Rahul Ranjan 

5) - Daud Zaidi (Subt. Neel Eeshu) 

6) - Karan Virk

7) - Ranjana Sharma 

8) - Deven Pandey

9) - Shivam Pandya 

10) - Rishi Srivastava

11) - Priyashrav Bharadwaj (Subt. Ravi Shankar)

12) - Youdhveer Singh

13) - Mehfooz Ali

14) - Soumendra Majumder

15) - Prashant Vasava

16) - Srishti Yash Mudaliar

Parallel League Champion - Mr. James Linton

*Total Participants in International Freelance Talents Championship 2013 - 311

Semi Final # 1 : Siddhant Shekhar vs. Kapil Chandak

*) – Strife After Death

(Siddhant Shekhar)

Now before continuing with the account, the author feels that he has a moral responsibility to ask people who take their faith (or the lack thereof) seriously to desist from reading any further. He hopes that he shall not be bombarded with accusations ranging from a “Heretic” to a “Blot on the name of atheists” the following morning; he did warn you.

        Sid raised his head, he could see the sky, it was bluer than he remembered. He could see long lines of people standing in front of him, waiting in front of what seemed to be thousands of tables. He turned his head and saw a lone table standing at the far end of the white (?) carpet with the sign Information desk”. He pushed himself to his feet and moved towards it. The carpet beneath his feet felt amazing to walk on, it was just the right amount of spongy, just the right temperature, and Holy Shit! Where were his shoes?

        Now suddenly conscious of his appearance, Sid looked down to find himself clad in a white robe (? What did these people have with white?) He added it to the list of questions in his head and made his way to the information desk.

        “Yes son?” An old man (Who weirdly enough, reminded Sid of Gandhiji) was sitting behind the table.

        “What place is this?”Sid tried his best to sound polite and humble but after the old man had spoken even whisperings of love would sound like a post-crash conversation in Delhi’s traffic.

        “This is the entrance hall. What religion are you from?”

        Sid flared at this. A firm (and at times unnecessarily virulent) atheist, he found the question extremely offensive every time he heard it.

        “What does my religion have to do with anything?”

“Well, how would you know where do you go from here if you don’t tell me your religion?”

“I am a human being. I can write my own destiny and make my own way. I don’t need some scriptures written by drunk guys thousands of years ago to know what to do with my life. Or is it religious segregation? If its that, I am walking right out.”

“Code 6 people. Slash 42. Good lord, it’s the third 42 since morning. Why don’t you sit down son?” The old man gestured to a chair that Sid could have sworn wasn’t there a minute ago.

Sid sat down, feeling apprehensive. He didn’t feel so angry anymore now that it was evident that the old man knew what he was doing while Sid on the other hand, had no freaking clue.

“Well son, I know this will be a shock for you and everything, but you need to know… Aah! What the heaven, you’re dead.”

Death is an event as sure as the rising of the sun and its rays kissing the face of the earth with no chances of rain or an eclipse. Therefore, for something that can be done only once with no chances whatsoever of a do over, getting strangled by your steam iron’s wire isn’t the most graceful way to snuff it. But then Sid had never been one to place substantial emphasis on the importance of grace and sophistication in one’s life anyway. He attended college wearing shorts (with the drawstring making a trail on the dirt below), openly admitted he hated his school in his school’s President Election campaign speech (And still lost by a surprisingly small margin!) and never lifted his feet when he walked. Though the author never cross checked but he has a feeling that most of Sid’s peers expressed a lower level of shock (or amusement) than expected in the social protocol. Not because they didn’t care but because they half expected something of this sort to happen.

        “Erm, what?” Sid managed to blurt out.

        “Yeah. Here read this,” the old man handed him a pamphlet *I am dead, What now?*, “It should cover most of your basic queries. Now, what’s your name?”

        Sid, too shocked to say anything at the time, mumbled out his name.

        “Alright! So born a hindu, converted to Atheism, not that conversions count, code 6, slash 42, file no. INBIPA13069374. Here, see that table in that corner with the board “Special Needs”? Take this slip there, the good lady behind the counter would explain everything to you,” The old man ranted off without pausing for breath.

        Sid resented being called a retard but before he could protest, the old man snapped his fingers and Sid found himself standing the in the comparatively short line in front of the “Special needs” counter.

        Sid observed the brochure he had been handed. Its cover bore a picture of an angelic (literally this time) woman with her index finger on her chin, staring up at her halo. The idea was starting to sink in now slowly. He was dead, it was over. All his plans, his achievements, none of them mattered anymore. His parents would never see him, or would he (probably). His friends would have no one to turn to the next time someone fell in love or wanted to buy a guitar. It was all over. Poof, gone.

        Before Sid could delve deeper into the brochure, a ringing bell brought him back (not from the dead, but you get the drift). He looked up to see a young woman staring impatiently at him, tapping a pen against her palm impatiently.

        “Erm, yeah. I have been asked to give you this.” Sid handed over the slip.

        “Ok. So hindu, that’s gate 5 for you, IN so take the second elevator for Inland deaths and talk to Chitragupt Ji. Can you find your way or should I assign a cherub or something to you?”

        “Err, n.. No... I can do it.” Sid hoped that no one noticed how fucking clueless he was. Everyone had.

        “Thank you. Hope you enjoy your stay here.,” The woman said with a practised sweetness.

        Sid walked away wondering how could anyone enjoy being dead.

                                                        ***

Sid counted off the gates walking towards gate 5. Gate 1 bore some hieroglyphs, so he could predict it was the Ancient Egyptian door. He had no clue about gates 2 and 3. Gate 4, however, was wide open. Sid couldn’t contain his curiosity and peeked inside.

“Drachma.” A wizened hand with surprisingly long yet well-kept nails was thrust under his nose. Sid, in his surprise, stumbled upon his own feet and fell down on his back.

“I am sorry. Was it too much? I felt it would make a good impression, being the ferry of the dead and stuff.” The hand was now offered to him. Sid got hold of it and got up.

“Charon?” Sid finally connected the dots and deciphered the identity of the mysterious man. It was Charon, the greek ferrier of souls. But he looked nothing like expected. He looked more like a monk than what one would expect the ferrier of souls to look like.

“Yes! Finally someone who knows its “Care-on” and not “Kai-Ron”. But then again, you are the only one to visited in a while.”
        Sid can now personally tell you that nothing is more awkward than breaking bad news to a person who can pretty much destroy you for it.

“Erm, Mr. Charon, Sir? Paganism has been dead for a while.”

“Dead? What do you mean?” CHaron’s friendly smile vanished at this.

“Erm, yeah. Paganism died out about 2000 years ago. That’s why no one has been visiting you for a while. I am sorry.”

Whatever followed had been the last thing Sid could have expected Charon to say.

“Son of Kronos! What will I do now? I just bought a house in Elysium. I am down 50000 drachmas already, I need another 20 for possession. Do you how hard bargains does Hades make?”

Sid left Charon to his economic musings and what sounded like swearing in ancient greek. As he noticed gate 5 and walked towards it, he decided that the Gods definitely are CRazy!

Sid took the second elevator (an extremely crowded one with despicable music) and soon (about 2 years in time) found himself face to face with Chitragupt.

Now Chitragupt was everything Charon was not. On his first look at Chitragupt, SId was reminded of that one girl on whom he had had a crush because of her facebook profile picture. Needless to say (and as most of the male readers would relate to), she underwent a steep 40% drop in her hotness in person (and lost yet another 5% due to her accent).

Chitragupt was a balding, plump (only because it would be extremely rude to compare a god to a Truck) and an astronomically irritable man who looked about 40. He had thick glasses with gold rim and lips so red that there was o way that Paan was not involved. Sid decided that if Chitragupt was Yamraj’s Munshi, he sure looked the part.

“Yes, name and file no.” Chitragupt fired away immediately, like a government employee eager to just get it over with and go home. Somehow, Chitragupt had Sid’s sympathies. The poor guy hadn’t been home in around 4000 years.

“Erm, no welcome?”

Chitragupt’s stare made Sid regret his joke instantaneously.

“Do I look like a receptionist? You are dead son. You obviously weren’t welcome even in your own world.”

“Ouch! That stung.” Sid thought to himself.

“They say a little politeness would take you a long way.” Sid persisted, trying to save whatever he could of his already lost face.

“I have been on this chair for 750 years. I am not going anywhere anytime soon. Now, name and number.

Sid handed him the slip he had and decided to start on the questions he had.

“How did I die?”

Chitragupt’s expression made Sid wonder if he had asked him to cross-reference a fact in his register or to take 7 rounds around of the Earth, a couple of demons on the tow.

“Asphyxiation.” Chitragupt grunted.

“Erm, how exactly?”

“Look! Do you want me to assign you or should I close down my register and play 21 questions with you?”

“Assign me?”

Now Chandragupt’s expression turned into one Sid was sure Shakespeare was given by his audience after the end of the first screening of “Romeo and Juliet”, one of “Are You Fucking Serious?”

“You want to ask questions? Go ask them from the boss. As it s he hasn’t done a Goddamned thing since soul retrieval was outsourced. I have been asking for additional counters for 2300 years now. Maybe he deserves you. I did not sign up to answer a stupid kid’s questions.”

Soon, like a torn out pillow in a game of “Pass The Parcel”, Sid was buffeted around by Gods. Chitragupt to Yamraj, Yamraj to Chitragupt, Chitragupt to Yamraj again, Yamraj to Shiv, Shiv to Vishnu and so on. Sid didn’t remember who it was (probably Narad) but one suggestion was to talk to the “ONE”, the supreme power after he had met a few million Gods and received exactly 3 answers (2 of them were of “Where is the next god’s office?”).

Sid peered into a room Labelled “ONE” (in a bit too rominent Capitals) after being shunted around from one God to another for about 15 years. Sid had been expecting Brahma (or at least Zeus, he was ready to shut his eyes at a moment’s notice in case Zeus was “Busy”). But instead of a dominant and impressive body of power he was greeted by an ancient (literally) man. The man looked healthy and but had no teeth, hair and his skin could probably fit in three of him.

“Stop! Swear on the spirit of Nut that you do not have a cobra.” the old man cried.

“Ra?”

“Its lord Ra to you kid. ANd you have not answered my question yet.”

“No, R... Lord Ra. I swear on the spirit of Nut that I do not have a Cobra.” Sid bit his tongue to keep himself from smiling. This wasn’t what he had in mind when imagining the God of Gods.

“Laugh all you want. YOu do not have kids so you wouldn’t understand. Especially not like Isis. She could kill me to take over. Oh no wait, she already did. Yes, I forgot, she already did.”

“I am not laughing Lord Ra. I just didn’t expect you to be here as ONE. You are a Sun God after all, you keep busy every day.”

“Seniority is a thing Kid. Would you send your Dad to do something you could? Apollo has been incharge of it for a while now. Careless bugger, couldn’t resist showing off. Its ok, I have ordered him off, Global warming should be done with and over soon now.”

“Now, I have heard you have some questions.”

“Where did you hear that from?”

“I am omniscient kid. I don’t need to hear thing from others.”

“And yet you didn’t know I wasn’t Isis?”

Ra sighed at this. Sid was perversely elated at the knowledge that he could give a hard time to anyone, even the supreme GOD!

Ra said, “Imagine you have an infinite amount of knowledge, you would know everything there is to know, there was to know and there will be. Now don’t you think processing an infinite amount of data would take a while?”

“Point. But if you know everything didn’t you know better than to create so many different religions and let them fight amongst themselves?”

“Did you stake me out to have a philosophical discourse?”

“Not really, but as long as I am here.”

“Well, I am not, I have a lot more important stuff to take care of than answer a mortal.”

“I said that when I didn’t know an answer in school.”
        “You do realize that I am a God and I can destroy you pretty much anytime I want?”

“That’s what my teachers said when they didn’t know an answer.”

Ra glared at Sid. Sid managed to hold Ra’s gaze (though with him being the Sun god and everything, Sid was sure his eyes would have been fried by now had he been in his mortal form.)

“Very well. How would you like to have just one thing to eat, one thing to drink, one thing to wear, one person to talk to and so on till the end of your life. How boring would that be? So, there are different religions so that every person has a choice.”

“Aren’t you stuck with the religion you were born with even after death? I was told so at the Info desk.”

“You are a 42?”

“Yes! Yes, I am a 42! Is that a crime? And what does it mean anyway?”

“42 is an atheist. 42, Answer to everything, pretty clever huh? Thoth came up with it. You see, you atheists do not believe in life after death, or hell or heaven, but even you deserve an afterlife. So we classify you into your birth religion.”

“But if all the religions are the same, how do we have a choice? Isn’t it more of an illusion of choice?”

“You know, being a superior, you reserve certain privileges. Like delegating irritating tasks to juniors.”

“How is that relevant?”

“It’s not. Go ask your own Gods these questions. I will pass the ordinance.”

***

        Now there was an uproar in the Hindu Realm. “Bade Sahab’s” order had come, some boy was coming to ask them questions. An emergency meeting was called.

        “Its an enquiry right? I knew it! I knew I shouldn’t have taken up Apollo’s shift. I am so getting downsized.” Surya complained.

        “No, its not an enquiry. Trust me, if it had been an enquiry, the romans would have been first. They haven’t done anything in ages!” Varun consoled him.

        “In any case, the boy is coming and we need to find a spokesperson. Who should it be?” Saraswati Ji, always focused on the task at hand, reminded everyone of the real problem.

        “Why don’t you do it?” Vishnu Ji asked Saraswati ji.

        “No. Not my thing. I am an academic, not a politician. Get someone else.” Saraswati Ji gave a flat no.

        “Let’s bribe him!” came the brilliant suggestion from Kuber Ji.

        “Yeah, because last time that panned out flawlessly.” interjected Brahma Ji. Kuber ji immediately fell silent on being reminded about Ravan.

        “How about Krishna Ji? He already has a reputation for giving speeches that mortals literally worship. THe boy is a mortal too, could work.”

        A general murmur of agreement ran through the room.

        “Well, would you do it Vasudev?” asked Brahma Ji.

        “Erm, yeah? What? Oh that! Yeah, sure, whatever.” Krishna Ji tore his eyes away from the Apsara serving Amrit.

“Well, then. It is decided. Krishna Ji will represent God in front of this boy.”

Krishna Ji wasn’t even listening. He was showing off his flute to the Apsara.

*** 

        The next day, Sid walked in lugging a file around (which just had one sheet of paper with some questions hurriedly scribbled on) and became an instant object of wonder amongst the younger and more old fashioned Gods.

        The royal hall was cleared out. Indra Ji was asked to chair the session. Sid was given a wooden chair (he refused to use the golden throne), Krishna Ji was given a swing. As they were about to start, the first glitch came up.

        “Who’s the steno?” Sid piped up.

        NOw the debate was a new enough concept for the Gods. So, not entirely out of Character, they lost it at the Steno part.

        Ganesh Ji was coaxed into transcribing the session as he had experience regarding this sort of thing. Sid persuaded him by giving him a pen and assuring him he would not lose his other tooth.

        The proceedings started.

        “The representative of Gods will be Krishna Vasudev Yadav (“Reservation is everywhere”, smirked Sid), you may proceed.”

        “Ok, first of all, the most obvious question. Why the wars, misery, hunger and sufferings?”

        “You know the skateboard metaphor, don’t you? You have a son, you can’t hold onto him forever, you have to let him take risks, blah blah, yada yada. That’s the standard answer.”

        “Well, but here aren’t you leaving him in the middle of a highway with no instructions? Africa is a Human Rights nightmare, Middle East is a living grave-yard. If you are omnipotent then why can’t you save your own creations?”

        Krishna Ji lost his expression of disinterest and sat up a bit straighter when this point was raised.

        “Ok, we will return to this later. What’s your next question?” You could hear the heartbeats (or well, whatever is the Divinity’s equivalent of it is) at this point of time. If this mortal boy had got Krishna ji involved in something, this was bound to be interesting.

Sid - Why doesn’t everyone get what they want? Why is every human on this planet doomed to spend his life in want, need or desire?

Krishna Ji - If every person got what they wanted, where will it end? If you want 10, we give you 10, but then as soon as our backs are turned you want 100.

Sid - So why bother in the first place?

Krishna Ji - No. But just not starting a downward spiral I know I can’t control.

Sid - Ok, lets rephrase that, why doesn’t everyone get what they need?

Krishna Ji - If everyone had what they needed, why would anyone remember us?

Sid - So, you choose your own sense of self-importance over the prosperity and happiness of a species you helped create?

Krishna Ji - No! You are missing the point completely! We do not do this for ourselves, we do this for you. Understand this, the world is not made up of only Good people. There are bad people too. If everyone had everything they needed, even contentment, not that its possible with humans, but let’s say for the sake of argument that everyone was content, then why would you remember us? And more importantly how would you remember that your actions do not affect only you but also those around you? Why would you remember that there is a higher power and even if just due to fear of that unseen power, you would stop to think before taking any step. This is why people who have more remember us more, because they have a lot more to lose too.

Sid - Well, then the aloof strategy isn’t working very well. Evil is abound. Why don’t you curb that.

Krishna Ji - As I said, the world is not made up of Good people only, there are people who are bad too. We do not make them that way, but we can not interfere everytime someone strays from our defined path. What would be the meaning of free will then? And as far as not curbing is concerned, it is because we can not intervene directly into the mortal world. Know what would happen if we could? Humans would become pawns in our games of power and position. God A would say, “Look! God B gave him a lot more than I did, let’s kill his family, that will show him! Hah!” We gods aren’t without our faults too. Do you want that? We don’t, and so we stay away.

Sid - And risk not being believed in?

Krishna Ji - Yes. One, because it doesn’t matter, you have free will, you are free to believe in whatever you wish to believe during your life. You would know the truth after death anyhow. And the second and more important reason is that Humans and Gods are circular. Or I could even say Gods were created by Humans and not the other way around.

Sid - Elaborate please.

Krishna - Say, instead of Krishna, I was named Krishnan 2000 years ago by a spelling mistake. Then today you wouldn’t have been having this conversation with Krishna, you would have been talking to Krishnan. It was the collective conscience of millions of people that gave rise to us, not the other way round.

Sid - So are you saying that you did not create us? Or the Universe?

Krishna Ji - ME? No! However, I will not deny that something. do not ask me to define it, I can’t, but something did catalyse the process and push you into the right direction.

Sid - But if you didn’t create us why should we worship you?

Krishna Ji - I never said we didn’t create you, we did. But not in the form that you find in the scriptures. I did not mould you out of mud and breathe life into you, but instead we shaped you by giving you a shell to project your conscience onto.

Sid - Ok, now you lost me.

Krishna Ji - You can never thank yourself. Try saying “Thank Me” once, it just feels weird. Human mind is too limited to grasp the concept that you mind, not your brain, but your mind is a personal God you have at your disposal. This is where you can get all your answers from if you look for it hard enough. But you can not thank yourself once you have those answers. So we drop in to give you something to thank. Its not needed, but you are still too fragile to understand that.

Sid - But then, in the beginning of the session you took responsibility for our lives. Now you are saying you do not do anything.

Krishna Ji - As I said, its tough to explain. We do things, but very rarely tangibly. Its a circular argument. we do stuff but not in the form you are used to thinking of. You could write a book about the ways in which we helped shape you and still summarise it in a sentence saying “You are your own Gods”.

Sid - But then if my conscience is my own God, why am I having this conversation with you? I could have talked to myself.

Krishna Ji - (Laughing ) You tell me that!

Sid - …

Krishna Ji- Because you cannot. That is what enlightenment is, realizing that there is a God within you and have him answer all your questions.

Sid - Then you are saying you can not do anything about Africa, or the middle east, or a child dying of hunger? Because you obviously can not interfere directly.

Krishna Ji - Yes and No. We can not come down with guns blazing on evil-doers. But if the collective conscious shifts to a situation, things will change. Call it an act of God if you will, but in reality it would be your own doing.

Sid - But then, the same question returns, why should we worship you if you never will do anything?

Krishna Ji - Don’t! By all means. But only if you are well aware of the repercussions of your own actions. If you are too naive to see how you are harming others or too selfish to pay attention to it, then we would be around to remind you that there is a higher power. Maybe it wouldn’t mean much, but fear is the greatest motivator, so in the same breath, it also could cause a difference.

Sid - But the self moral compass is one bug you forgot to fix.

Krishna Ji - Yes, I admit. Morality is not cumulative like knowledge, or money, or even greed. If your father has wealth, you will inherit that and maybe even build upon that. But if your father was a moral man, if wouldn’t mean you would be a better human being. It was our mistake I admit. And now as we can not punish wrong-doers directly, things have gotten a bit out of hand.

Sid - Is there a remedy, father?

Krishna Ji - Father? (chuckle) Not from us anymore. Its in your hands now. Our work is done, now its your species’ job to build upon this and prosper by yourself. Our work is done, we have retired. Now you are on your own from here. Now, are we done here?

Sid - Yes. Why don’t you tell this to everyone?

Krishna Ji - Be my guest. The whole thing was written down right? Send it down. But please, to a friend or something. We don’t need another Mount Sinai fiasco. Worst mistake of our lives. Haven’t seen so much pointless bloodshed ever, and all due to no reason at all! NOW, are we done?\

Sid - Just one last question.

Krishna Ji - (Sigh) What now?

Sid - What do guys have with White?

Krishna - Nothing, one of our quirks.

Ganesh - If you have descended to frivolous trivalities now, can I stop writing? And you, kid, what do I do with this now?

Sid - I think, I know.

And so, ladies and gentlemen, your humble narrator, came across this account and decided to share it with you fine people. These views are not his, he is just the communicator. What you make of it is entirely upto you now, his work is done. Good night. :)

Rating - 57/100 (Bonus Plus 5)

Final Rating - 62/100

Judge's Remarks - "The start is interesting but as the story proceeds it becomes difficult to connect with it. Few hilarious scenes. The moral of the story is hard to find, some reasons in the story are not clear and the ending seems unpolished. However, this story should get the Bonus points for justifying multiple themes."

*) - सुपरहीरो

(Kapil Chandak)

कहानी में सुपरहीरो की सार्थकता को गंभीर व्यंग्यात्मक शैली मैं प्रस्तुत करने के साथ-साथ टेक्नोलोजी से घिरे कर्मचारी-वर्ग और छात्रो की मानसिकता और नैतिकता पर कटाक्ष को रोचक बनाने के लिए कुछ जगह हास्य का तड़का डाला है

"रोहित… रोहित कहाँ है? जल्दी आ शुरू हो गया, 'कैप्टेन कपिल और बिजली का चोर' 

…कैप्टेन कपिल और उसका साथी चमटू कमअक्ल सुपरहीरो हैं जिन्होंने दुनिया बचाने का बेडा अपने ऊपर उठा कर बेडा गर्क किया हुआ है... 

दोनों अपने गोपनीय अड्डे पर काला बुल्ला (उनका परम्परागत शत्रु) पर अनुसंधान कर रहे थे। अचानक बिजली चली जाती है, चारो और स्याह अंधकार फैल जाता है जैसे किसी काले हब्शी ने पूरे शहर को गले लगा लिया हो। कबूतरों की गुटर-गू से जिन्दगी की सुगबुगाहट जान पड़ती है नहीं तो अँधेरा, खौफ़ का ही पर्याय है। 

चमटू ने खिड़की से बाहर देखा, "कैप्टेन पूरे शहर की लाइट गुल है, कहीं ये काला बुल्ला का कोई नया दांव तो नहीं है?, लेकिन वो तो जेल मैं बंद हैं!"

कैप्टेन कपिल: "मेरे अनुमान से, उसने जेल में गश्त लगा रहे, सिपाही को बोला होगा, देख-देख उधर उड़ने वाला कबूतर, फिर सिपाही ने ऊपर देखते हुए ताज्जुब किया होगा, कहाँ है? कहाँ हैं?, मौका पा कर उसने जेल के पास खड़े उस सिपाही की गर्दन पकड़ ली होगी और एक हलके सधे हुए वार से उसे चित करके उसकी जेब से चाभी निकल कर भाग गया होगा, रास्ते में लिफ्ट नहीं मिलने पर उसने बेहोश सिपाही की जेब से निकाले हुए बस पास का इस्तेमाल कर सीधे पॉवर हाउस पहुँचा होगा और फिर वहां गड़बड़ी की होगी ताकि पूरे शहर की बिजली चली जाए और काला बुल्ला अँधेरे में खो जाए।"

चमटू: क्या बात है बॉस क्या सटीक गेस किया है यू आर रियली अ सुपर-डुपर सुपरहीरो, लेकिन कैप्टेन यहीं बात अगर आप अपने पेंट की ज़िप बंद करके बोलते तो, दर्शक ज्यादा इम्प्रेस होते, ही ही ही"

कैप्टेन (खिसियाते हुए, ज़िप बंद करता है जो वो आज फिर भूल गया था) :"चमटू, हँसना बंद करो, अब बात बहुत गंभीर हो गयी है, लगता है अब वक़्त आ गया हैं अपना सबसे खतरनाक हथियार वूडी-ऑइला का इस्तेमाल करने का"

चमटू: "आपका मतलब उस तेल पिए हुए डंडे से हैं ना कैप्टेन, वूडी-ऑइला! सुनने वाला तो नाम से ही मर जाए, ही ही ही" 

तभी सूक्ष्म रौशनी का झमाका होता, "लाइट आ गयी लाइट आ गयी" अरे आंटी आप! चमटू जैसे नींद की औंघाई से जागा होl 

… ये गोपनीय अड्डा और कुछ नहीं एक पेइंग गेस्ट हाउस है, जहाँ कैप्टेन कपिल और चमटू रहते है, आंटी वहां की मालकिन है।... 

आंटी: " नमूनों फ्यूज उड़ गया था, मैंने ठीक कर दिया"

"लेकिन फिर आस-पास के सारे घरो की बिजली क्यों बंद है"

"क्योंकि बाकि लोग उल्लू नहीं है जो रात के तीन बजे तक जागते रहे, आंटी ने चिल्लाते हुए दरवाजा बंद किया।" 

रोहित और निहार हँसते-हँसते लोट-पोट हो गए। 

"ये कैप्टेन कपिल और चमटू दोनों बस कमाल के हैं, कैप्टेन गेस तो ऐसे करता है जैसे सुब कुछ इसके सामने लाइव हो रहा हो हा हा हा, मैं इनका कोई भी एपिसोड कभी मिस नहीं कर सकता, सुबह-सुबह ऑफिस जाने से पहले इनके कारनामे देख लो और पूरा दिन हंसते हंसते निकल जाएगा" निहार ने ठिठोली की।

"भैया लेकिन हमारे सुपरहीरो का क्या हुआ? दो वीक निकल गए अभी तक कुछ फाइनल नहीं हुआ"

निहार और रोहित दोनों भाई है, निहार 30 और रोहित 25 वर्ष का हैं, बचपन से ही दोनों सुपरहीरो के उन्मादी हैं, एक सुपर कमांडो ध्रुव और बेटमेन को आदर्श मानता है तो दूसरा सुपरमेन और नागराज को ले कर उन्मत्त रहता है। निहार का कद बढ़ गया, साइकिल के दो पहिये चार से प्रतिस्थापित हो गए, आँखों से कौतुहल उतर कर, चश्मे को निमंत्रित कर गया। गालो पर उगी ढाढ़ी ने गोलू-मोलू की उपाधि से विभक्त कर दिया। वहीँ रोहित के स्कूल बैग का वजन, कॉलेज में आते ही एक-चोथाई रह गया, सूरज से पहले जागने वाला अब, अँधेरी रातों कर अनुरागी बन बैठा, यौवन दबे पाँव घुसपैठ कर चुका है पर लड़कपन को चित्त होना बाकि रह गया। निहार और उसका छोटा भाई ऑफिस और इंजीनियरिंग की पढ़ाई के अलावा अभी भी अपने सपनो को जी रहे हैं। दोनों को एक नया सुपर हीरो बनाने का जूनून है जो सभी मौजूदा सुपरहीरो से अद्वितीय हो।

"रोहित मेरा रिसर्च अभी जारी है, कल सन्डे है कल डिसकस करते है", लैपटॉप बैग उठाते हुए निहार, पिताजी के चरण स्पर्श करके मिली दुआऒ को, अपने पांच साल के बेटे को सौंपते हुए, पत्नी की मुस्कान की पावती के साथ ऑफिस के लिए निकल पड़ा।

आज ऑफिस से जल्दी निकलना हैं, अपने बेटे का नए वाले मॉल में गेम्स खिलाने का 7 दिन पुराना तकाज़ा या फिर जीवनसाथी को समय ना दे पाने की शिकायत का अंत अथवा पिताजी को बीमार शर्माजी से मिला लाने का अनुरोध इनमें से किसी भी एक कार्य की सिद्धी जरूरी है।

ऑफिस! इंसानी जरूरतों को मुकम्मल करने के लिए सशर्त बनी एक मण्डली, उधर गिरधर बाबु बैठे है जिनके लिए एक दिन में दो काम करना एक अभिशाप हैं, उनकी "बने रहो पगला काम करेगा अगला" नारे में अलंघ्य आस्था हैं। निहार के आते ही गिरधर बाबु ने टोका गोयल साहब ने बुलाया है अन्दर, अभी बंसलजी की क्लास लग रही हैं उनके बाद जाना।

बंसलजी, रंग गाढ़ा, मानो किसी ने कोलतार का ड्रम उलट दिया हो, बॉस के सामने खरगोश और स्टाफ के सामने पूरा जोश, अन्दर जाने से पहले, वीररस के कशीदे पढ़ रहे थे। भीतर बॉस के तेवर से बंसलजी जी का नियंत्रण इस तरह डगमगाया की सांस को अन्दर की तरफ खीच कर तोंद को कम करने का प्रयास विफल हो गया।

बॉस! यानि गोयल साहब, मध्यम कद-काठी, किसी मूर्तिकार की रद्दी रचना, सर पर मुट्ठी भर बाल छितराए है मानो किसी ने पान खा कर पीक की गोली मारी हो, चेहरा सिंघाड़े की याद दिला दे।, 48 किलो वजनी कृशकाय शरीर के अधिपति, मुहँ खोले तो, ऑफिस के शीशे अपनी-अपनी खैरियत के लिए भगवान के साधक बन जाते है। 

"पता नहीं आज कौनसा ड्रामा होगा? वैसे ही कमर दर्द से अकड़ी जा रही है" निहार ने पेरासिटामोल पानी के साथ गटकते हुए कहाँ।

बहुधा ऑफिस में लोग घंटो सिद्ध योगीओ के समान एक ही मुद्रा में की-बोर्ड पर किटर-पिटर कर लेते हैं और अन्दर बैठा बॉस उनकी कुर्सी पर अचल और अडिग भंगिमा से भले ही तृप्त हो जाए लेकिन उसे इस बात की सुध क्यों नहीं आती की जब वो खुद नौसिखिया हुआ करता था तो, वो भी घंटो कुर्सी तोड़ कर अपने मालिक को छलता था। आपको पता है की हाकिम 8 की जगह 10-11 घंटे रोकेगा तो काम भी आपको मंध्यांतर के बाद ही याद आता है। इस उहापोह में बाबू के साथ ढकोसला करते-करते आप अपनी सेहत की बाजी लगा बैठते हैं, और बट्टाखाता तंदुस्र्स्ती के लिए आलस्य व उच्छृंखलता के स्थान पर टेक्नोलॉजी को कलंकित हो जाती है। 

बंसलजी बॉस से छूटते ही, ये निश्चित होने पर की दरवाजा बंद हो गया अब बडबडाहट अन्दर नहीं जायेगी, पीठ पर लदे फटकार और घुडकियों के गठ्ठर की अवहेलना कर, अपने चिर-परिचित अंदाज में लोट आये, "सुना आया मैं भी अन्दर, बॉस होंगे अपनी जगह, यहाँ कौन दबता हैं? गलती तो की हैं कोई अपराध तो नहीं किया ना", पतली-पतली 9-10 बालो वाली मूच्छो पर तांव देते हुए, बंसलजी सहसा जोश में आ गए, "हम उन लोगो में से है जो जेब में इस्तीफ़ा ले कर घुमते है, पचासों जॉब भरे पड़े है, लेकिन थोडा लिहाज़ है, इसलिए पड़े है, हाथ चलते रहे इसलिए आ जाता हूँ नहीं तो बीघो जमीन पड़ी हैं, दुकाने-मकानों की गिनती नहीं है, तीन पुश्ते भी कम पड़ दोनो हाथो से लुटाने के लिए" 

लोगो के लिए विस्मय की बात ये थी की, यहीं बंसलजी जो पिछले 5 मिनट में संपन्न बन गए तो पान वाले का बकाया 60 रुपया बचाने के लिए पिछले 20 दिनों से घर जाने का लम्बा रास्ता क्यों अख्तियार कर रहे है?

"निहार, विकास आज आया नहीं, तुम उसकी फाइल्स भी कम्पलीट कर दो, अर्जेंट है" गोयल साहब ने अपना फ़तवा सुनाया। 

"सर लेकिन मेरे पास पहले से ही 3 अर्जेंट असाइनमेंट्स हैं, और आज मुझे थोडा टाइम पर भी निकलना था तो वो... "

"तो, ऑफिस बंद करू दू, तुम सब लोगो को फ़ोन करके पुछू, गुड मोर्निंग निहारजी अगर आप के पास थोडा समय हो तो आज ऑफिस खोला जाए, वहां हेडऑफिस से गोलिया चल रही हैं और यंहा, सर मे आई गो टू टॉयलेट? मे आई गो अर्ली? व्हाट नॉनसेंस" 

"ये खन्ना एसोसिएशन की फाइल लो, इसे कम्पलीट करके शाम तक दो, साथ ही मटेरियल रिपोर्ट का रिव्यु और बैंक का 3 महीने का रिकोंसिलेशन भी मंडे को 11 बजे तक मेरी डेस्क पर होना चाहिए मिस्टर निहार, और हाँ टाइम पर ऑफिस आया करो।"

टाइम वाली बात ने बाकि सभी बातो को फीका कर दिया, निहार दांत पीसते हुए सीट पर आ कर बैठ गया, "यहाँ साला रात को 12-12 बजे तक रुको, कोई पीठ थपथपाने वाला नहीं है और सुबह एक सेकंड भी लेट हो जाओ तो अछूतो सा सलूक होता है। इन्हें तो वो लोग पसंद है जो ऑफिस में आते ही नींद की गोली खाले और शाम 7-8 बजे का अलार्म लगा कर उठ जाए, बस देर तक बैठ जाओ भले ही पूरे दिन एक पेपर तक हाथ में ना लो। हम जैसे लोग 8 घंटे के काम को 4 घंटे में कर दे तो क्या हाफ डे में घर जाने के लिए कह देंगे?" 

उधर रोहित कॉलेज पहुंचने को है, अगले मेट्रो स्टेशन पर ही है कॉलेज हैं, शायद मेट्रो में लोगो को देख कर 'सुपरहीरो' के कोस्ट्युम का आईडिया आ जाए। रोहित को बचपन से ही सुपर हीरो बनने का शगल था, मम्मी का ब्लैक स्कार्फ को पीछे बाँध कर 'बेटमेन' बनना हो या गत्ते को स्टार की शेप में काटने के बाद नेकर के बटन पर चिपका, पापा की मोटर बाइक पर बैठ कर, चिल्लाना मैं हूँ 'सुपर कमांडो ध्रुव'। वो तो बाद में मालूम चला की वो गत्ता नहीं, पापा की इम्पोर्टेन्ट फाइल थी। डांट की वेदना ने भोजन से मोह भंग कर दिया, लेकिन जब स्नेहभाजन भिन्डी की सब्जी की बोध हुआ तो भोजन अस्वीकरण का कड़ा निश्चय सहर्ष वापस लेना पड़ा। 'ध्रुव' से प्रभावित रोहित हमेशा पठन-वाचन में अव्वल रहा। निर्भीकता, खरापन, नैतिकता व स्थिरता ने कभी उसका साथ नहीं छोड़ा। 

सामने खड़े किशोर की नीची उतरती जीन्स ने कॉस्टयूम के आईडिया में खलल पैदा कर दिया। मेट्रो में नीचे झुके आधुनिक चेहरे ज़मीं से अभी काफी दूर है। झुके हुए चेहरे,जो कभी केवल इम्तिहान के समय हर देवीय मूर्त के समक्ष स्वयं नतमस्तक होते थे, उन्हें देख कर ये निचोड़ निकलता है की आज के ज़माने में केवल वही सर उठा कर जी सकता है, जिसके पास स्मार्ट फ़ोन ना हो ही ही ही। सनातन काल से उच्चतर होने की प्रतिद्वंद्विता अस्तित्व में रही है, उच्चतर होने के क्रम में सौंदर्य व सौष्ठवता अग्रणी रहे है यद्यपि फेसबुक काल में आपकी सौंदर्यता तब तक ही जब तक आपका 30 दिवस का फोटोशॉप ट्रायल पैक एक्सपायर नहीं हुआ हो हा हा हा ।

रोहित का ध्यान, वहां कुछ छात्रो के समूह पर गया, 

एक ने कहा "बेटा कहा कॉलेज में प्लेसमेंट है, प्रैक्टिस करते है, मैं इंटरव्यू लेता हु तेरा",

"हम्म तो आप प्रोग्रामिंग एंड लैंग्वेजेज के बारे में कितना जानते है?" 

"तेरे से ज्यादा जानता हूँ"

"आपकी स्ट्रेंथ क्या है"

"मैं तेज शोर-गुल वाली क्लास में भी सो सकता हूँ, 2 लीटर पेप्सी एक सांस में पी सकता हूँ" 

"आप की होब्बीज क्या है?"

"बस को पकड़ने के लिए उसके पीछे भागना, देर रात जाग कर टोरेंट से डाउनलोड की हुयी 2 -3 मूवीज बेक टू बेक देखना, 

(तेज ठहाको से वो कोच गूँज उठा)

"अबे ऐसे देंगा इंटरव्यू"

"यार सच तो यही है, लेकिन मुझे कौनसी हीरोगिरी करनी हैं सच बोल कर, वो ही कॉलेज वाला रट्टा, वहां भी शुरू कर दूंगा" 

मेट्रो स्टेशन से नीचे उतर कर चिप्स के खाली पैकेट रोड पर फैंक कर छात्र, कॉलेज के तरफ लपके। रोहित को बैटमैन की मूवी 'डार्क नाईट राय्जेज' याद आती है जिसमे अपाहिज हीरो अपनी गोथमसिटी को मुसीबत में देख कर अपनी शारीरिक अक्षमता को भूल फिर से अपने शहर के लिए सभी खतरों से टकरा जाता है और ये लोग अपने शहर को बदरंग करने में भी कोई आमोद ढूंढ रहे है। रोहित की उग्रता ने उन छात्रो का ध्यानाकर्षण तो किया लेकिन दो टूक जवाब से उन्होंने इससे इति कर ली। "आस-पास डस्टबिन नहीं कहाँ फैंके" 

रोहित ने 'सुपर कमांडो ध्रुव' की कॉमिक्स मैं अनेको बार कई जगह पढ़ा हैं की जब ध्रुव (जिसके पास दुसरे सुपरहीरो के सामान कोई अलौकिक ताकत नहीं है) किसी भी दुष्कर और असाध्य खतरे या स्थिति में होता है तो वो उससे निपटने के लिए वहां मौजूद चीजों का ही इस्तेमाल करता है वो बहाना नहीं बना सकता की मेरे पास ये नहीं हैं, वो नहीं है, तो मैं इस बाधा से कैसे पार पाऊ। आप को हर परिस्थिति का सामना उपलब्ध संसाधनो से करना है। रोहित ने वो रेपर उठाये और अपने बैग में रख लिए। 

सात बज चुके हैं निहार पहले ही लेट हो चूका है, "ये क्या 2007 और 2009 में खन्ना एसोसिएशन को गलती से दो बार स्कीम क्रेडिट नोट इशू हो गया वो भी टोटल 83 लाख का, केश या बैंक ट्रांजेक्शन होता तो इजीली पकड़ा जाता, लेकिन फायदा क्रेडिट नोट के थ्रू गया है, ये विकास भी क्या करता है? इतनी बड़ी मिस्टेक को अभी तक नहीं पकड़ पाया। बॉस को बताना पड़ेगा, एक मिनट! बॉस को बताने का मतलब हैं 4 घंटे और ऑफिस में बैठना और फिर अगर ये फाइल मेरे पास नहीं आई होती तब भी 83 लाख का लोस कौन सा पकड़ा जाता, जो चल रहा हैं, चलने दो।" 

रास्ते में जल्दबाजी और हडबडाहट में रेड सिग्नल का ध्यान नहीं रहा, कांस्टेबल ने रोका, 

"पाँचसौ का चालान कटेगा" 

"लेकिन मैं... तो... "

"500 रखो, रसीद लो और आगे बढ़ो" 

कुछ समझौता वार्ता के बाद उदार, स्वार्थहीन, भद्र सज्जन ने सौ रुपये लेना स्वीकार किया, बस शर्त थी की रसीद नहीं मिलेंगी। निहार को थोडा सा अपराध बोध हुआ लेकिन फिर सोचा मुझे कौनसे नैतिकता के झंडे गाड़ने हैं। कुछ देर बाद फिर से ग्लानि हुयी गर उसका बेटा ये सब देखता तो… 

"आज का तो दिन ही ख़राब है, अब घर जा कर आज कौन सा बहाना बनाऊंगा, काश की मैं सुपरहीरो होता और सब कुछ ठीक कर देता"

खैर निहार साहब घर पहुँचे, पिताजी को कल के लिए आश्वत किया, पूरे दिन से तैयार पिताजी को दोस्त (शर्माजी) से ना मिल पाने का विषाद, निहार की आखों से छिपा नहीं रहा। पत्नी की अनकही शिकायत को मुस्कराहट से कम करने का प्रयास भी कमतर ही रहा, बेटा की नाराज़गी से तो निंदिया रानी ने बचा लिया, जो पापा से उलट, हमेशा समय पर आती है। 

अगले दिन, रविवार सुबह, दोनों भाई टीवी के सामने।

'कैप्टेन कपिल और गुच्चु गमछा'

चमटू: "कैप्टेन मैंने सुना है की गुच्चु गमछा एक नंबर का वाहियात, जलील और बैगैरत बन्दा है"

कैप्टेन: "लोग तेरे बारे मैं भी ऐसा ही कहते है" (जोरदार ठहाका)

चमटू : "कैप्टेन मैंने हवा में उड़ने वाला सूट बना लिया"

कैप्टेन: "शाबाश चमटू, इसकी मदद से गुच्चु गमछा ज्यादा देर तक बच नहीं पायेगा, ला वो सूट मुझे दे"

चमटू: "लेकिन बॉस वो सूट केवल हवाई जहाज में ही पहन सकते है, तब ही तो उड़ पायेंगे ही ही ही" 

"वो देखो कैप्टेन सामने साइकिल पर गुच्चु गमछा आ रहा है"

"हाँ भाई पेट्रोल जो इनता महंगा है, बंदा एको-फ्रेंडली हैं। लेकिन यहाँ साइकिल पार्किंग बहुत महँगी है, उससे ये मुलाक़ात बहुत महँगी पड़ेगी" 

गुच्चु गमछा: (पार्किंग चार्जेज देने के बाद बचे हुए छुट्टे पैसे गिनते हुए) "पचास पैसे कम है, धोखा हुआ है गुच्चु गमछा के साथ, इस पचास पैसे की छनक 87 दिन तक गूंजेगी, दुनियावालो"

"कैप्टेन कपिल! और चमटू! तैयार हो जाओ मरने के लिए"

कैप्टेन: "प्लीज वेट, थ्री मिनट्स ओनली"

गुच्चु गमछा: ???

कैप्टेन: "जल्दी कर चमटू , वो लाल वाला ठीक रहेगा, अरे ये थोडा नीचे कर, हां अब ठीक है, इसका बटन बहुत टाइट है " 

चमटू: "कैप्टेन आप तो जम रहे हो" 

गुच्चु गमछा : (चिल्लाते हुए) अरे कोई बतायेगा ये हो क्या रहा है? मेने साइकिल किराए पर ली है, मुझे जल्दी जाना है, (धीमी आवाज़ में) प्लीज मुझ से लड़ लो"

कैप्टेन: "भाई तूने ही तो कहा था की मरने के लिए तैयार हो जाओ, इसलिए हमने मरने के लिए स्पेशल ड्रेस सिलवाई थी आज पहली बार पहन कर देखी है, अब तैयार होने में थोडा तो टाइम लगता ही हैं, स्माइल प्लीज" (खुद की और चमटू की फेसबुक के लिए ऑटो मोड पर फोटो लेते हुए)

गुच्चु गमछा: "हा हा हा मैंने कहाँ मरने के लिए तैयार और तुम लोग वाकई वैसे वाले तैयार… हा हा हा… हा हा हा" (धम्म, जमीन पर धडाम) 

… गुच्चु गमछा हँसते-हँसते मर गया, हंसी ही इसकी कमजोरी थी। एक बार फिर कैप्टेन कपिल और चमटू ने दुनिया बचा ली। (हा हा हा)… 

रोहित और निहाल बच्चो की तरह खिलखिला कर हंस पड़े। 

"सही है हर प्रॉब्लम की तोड़ है हंसी"

"एक लाफ्टर एक स्माइल पूरी टेंशन को धो डालती हैं"

"भैया हमारा सुपर हीरो भी हँसमुख होगा, विलेन का भी थोडा एंटरटेनमेंट हो जाएगा हा हा हा"

रोहित , एक हंसमुख व्यक्ति अपने आप में सुपरहीरो है, कल का दिन अच्छा नहीं गया, लेकिन अगर चेहरे पर मुस्कान होती तो शायद इतना बुरा नहीं जाता।"

"सही कहा भैया, काफी रिसर्च करने पर मैं मानता हूँ की हमारा सुपरहीरो बाकि हीरो की तरह ड्यूटीफुल, डेडिकेटेड, आइडियलिस्टिक, हेल्पफुल, फ्रैंक, बोल्ड, फिट, जेनरस और फैथफुल होना चाहिए लेकिन उसके पास कोई सुपर नेचुरल पॉवर नहीं होगी"

"सुपर कमांडो ध्रुव और डोगा की तरह?"

"हाँ, लेकिन वो इन दोनों से भी थोडा अलग होगा"

"अलग?"

"अलग!, क्योंकि वो लिविंग सुपरहीरो होगा, बिलकुल जीता-जागता रियल लाइफ सुपरहीरो , स्क्रीन और कॉमिक्स फ्रेम से बाहर"

"रोहित तू, पागल हो गया क्या? लिविंग सुपर हीरो कहाँ से आएगा" 

"भैया, वो आप हो!"

"जबसे समझ आई है, आप को ही आदर्श माना हैं, आप के कंधो पर बैठ कर दुनिया के उतार चढाव समझे हैं, आप में वो सब क्षमताये हैं जिनसे एक सुपरहीरो बनता है"

निहार सकते में आ गया, सहसा छाती में एक उबाल उठा की इस मिथ्या, बनावटी, आभासी प्रतिरूप को खींच कर उतार दू और चिल्ला-चिल्ला कर बोल दू की मेरे जैसा अधर्मी, अविश्वसनीय, अनुत्तरदायी, छली, मंथर और संयमहीन भला कौन होगा, लेकिन रोहित के सजल आँखों में छलक रहे विश्वास और प्रेम ने उसकी जिह्वा को भीतर ही समेट दिया।

रविवार सुबह निहार और अवकाशों से भिन्न जल्दी उठा, बेटे को कंधे पर बैठा उद्यान की सैर करवाई, खेल रहे बच्चो को लंगड़ी-टांग सिखाया, तथापि इस खेल में बचपन से चली आ रही अपराजेयता को निहार ने कुछ मासूम खिलखिलाहट के लिए गँवा दी। विषाद और उदास समझे जाने वाली बुजुर्ग मण्डली में निहार के सम्मिलित होते ही हंसी ठट्ठा की खोज हुयी। आरोग्यता हेतु योगा किया जो वर्षो किये जा रहे स्वांग और समयाभाव दलीलों से कभी स्मरण नहीं हुआ। आखिर सुपरहीरो के लिए फिटनेस तो अहम् है ही। रुग्ण शर्माजी की पिताजी से भेंट करवाई, लगे हाथो कुछ धार्मिक पुस्तके अप्रत्याशित उपहार दे कर सौभाग्य के वरदान भी बटोरे।

श्रीमती को दोपहर सिनेमा चलने का प्रस्ताव रखा। 

"दोपहर नहीं रात को चलेंगे"

"रात को भी चल सकते है लेकिन एक रिस्क है"

"रिस्क?"

"कहीं लोग आपको चाँद समझ कर अपना व्रत न तोड़ ले"

प्रेम पर वर्षो बाद पुराना रंग चढ़ गया। 

संध्या से पहले मोहल्ले की पगडण्डी पर लगे सभी पौधों को आवरण से संरक्षित किया। काफी समय बाद, शाम को पुराने दोस्तों के मेसेज पढने के बजाय उनकी आवाजे सुनी, अगले दिन पहली बार कोई स्वेच्छापूर्ण गोयल साहब के केबिन मैं घुसा, खन्ना एसोसिएशन वाली बात बताते हुए उस का रिकोंसिलेशन का स्टेटमेंट सुपुर्द करके, बाकि बची दूसरी पार्टीज के भी ऑडिट प्रस्ताव का पहलपन कर गोयलजी के मुहँ से प्रशंसा सुनने वाले दुनिया के इकलौते और प्रारम्भिक व्यक्ति बने। 

उधर रोहित मंद-मंद आनंदित हो रहा हैं, क्यों ना हो, कल तक सबके लिए अनचाहे बनते जा रहे बड़े भैया से एक झूठा पर मीठासा विश्वास दर्शा कर उसने असली सुपर हीरो की खोज कर ली थी, जो बच्चो के खिलखिलाहट, बुजुर्गो की दुआओं, दोस्तों की मस्ती, हमसफ़र के प्रेम, अभिभावकों के सपनों, कर्तव्यो की ताकत, समाज की जिम्मेदारी और प्रकृति की ख़ूबसूरती में समाया है। 

"भैया आप तो सुपर हीरो बन गए, अब मैं क्या बनू"

"तू मेरा 'चमटू' हैं ना" हा हा हा... 

Rating - 64/100

Judge's Remarks - "The story may look like an ordinary story but it is a story which makes it clear what its moral is. Touches the reader with the simplicity. It is well balanced and polished."

Result - Mr. Kapil Chandak wins the match & becomes first finalist of Freelance Talents Championship. Mr. Siddhant Shekhar is eliminated from the Championship, he will compete in Bronze Medal Match against the losing author of second Semi Final.

Judge - Mr. Dheeraj Verma (Artist, Author & Publisher with hundreds of Comics, Books published. Turned Pro - 1991.)