A Misunderstood Picture is worth a Million bucks.

   When I read the assignment brief for today’s Writing101 assignment, I was stumped.

None of the picture-prompts for this assignment made me feel creative. Oh, I checked unsplash.com too. It had some wow-some pictures, but I stayed uninspired. In fact, most of these pictures made me long for things that I don’t and can’t have. They depressed me no end. I was going to skip this assignment, but fate had other plans up its unwashed sleeve.

Here’s a true-blue narration of the events that transpired.

The Night-picture:

This picture reminded me of the rocking nightlife that was once mine, and only tattered memories of which now remain. It reminded me of those lost nights when wifey wasn’t my wifey, and I wasn’t her hubby; when she’d wrap her arms around me and I’d snake my bike through those minimalistic gaps that are only visible to Delhi’s bikers.  Those were the days when we enjoyed even those terrible traffic-jams. They used to be so romantic! This picture made me remember those days that will never come back.

I wasn’t inspired.

The Map:

The picture of the map had me almost on the verge of tears. But men don’t cry. Correction. Indian men don’t cry. Correction again. Punjabi men don’t cry – and if they dare to even make the about-to-cry face, their mothers threaten to kill themselves. The image of the map saddened me. There was a time in life when a map meant travel or treasure to me, but now it means D.R.U.D.G.E.R.Y.  Why? Because the only map that I have with me now is the map of Delhi NCR. In these years past, the only treasure that I look for with the help of a map, is a good house to rent. The map reminded me house-hunting in Noida. Tiredness began creeping into my bones as I looked at the map image.

It didn’t inspire me to write anything at all.

The Window:

The window reminded me of the years I spent cajoling Microsoft Windows to do my bidding. I wasted years trying to live with Windows, but this femme-fatale had absolutely no loyalty whatsoever. She’d leave me when I needed her the most – at the fag-end of a project, or when I hadn’t backed up my system for two-weeks. I am sure I must’ve done something really bad in my previous life – or why would God punish me by giving me Windows, especially when Mac was around!

It made me want to do bring about a Lawsuit against God. 

(If Kanjilal Mehta could do it, so can I.)

The Mid-air Jump:

Wifey was hovering in the shadows when I was looking at the image above.
“NO!!!,” she screamed.
“What?” I asked her, slapping my neck. She screams like that when she sees a spider or a bug on my neck, which happens quite often – given my love for gardening.
“You aren’t going to do that?” she said, pointing a trembling finger at the image I was looking at.
I looked at the image, then I looked at her. And then it clicked. 

For the last two hours, I am enjoying my newfound status as the most cherished member of my family.

Thank you writing101. I owe it to you.

(Images Credit: Writing101 Course and unSplash.com)