Recently, the world witnessed two quakes. One measured 7.7 on the Richter
Scale and caused huge loss of life and property in an impoverished nation. The other
quake happened, far away and magnitude and scale of which is still being
measured daily and its repercussions are being felt globally.
My Ma in MynMaar
Mama, wake
up
Son, I am
tired. Go back to sleep.
Mama, the
bed is shaking.
You must
have seen a bad dream.
Mama, the
window is crashing.
Darling,
don’t make up things. All day long I have been working hard and I need my sleep
tonight.
Mama, the
door opening and shutting on its own.
Go put the
latch and come back to bed.
Mama, I am
afraid, something bad is happening.
Come, let
me hold you tight and then we can sleep together.
Mama, see
the fan above, it is shaking hard.
You are
imaging things son.
Mama, can’t
you hear the people shouting outside.
That
happens all the time here… what’s new, son?
Mama, I can
hear sounds like explosions all around.
Must be the
rebels attacking the city, son.
Mama, it is
not like the sound and shake up ever before.
Go outside
and see for yourself but come back quickly and sleep off, my baby.
Mama, I
will run out of the house and rush back in no time.
Craaaash….Craaash…
Mamaaaaa! My
hands are shaking, hold me please
Mama, my
legs are shaking, talk to me please
Mama, I am
shaking…where are you
Mama, it is
time for you to wake up and go to work
Mama, come
out of the rubble and stand by me
Mama, I am
feeling so lonely
Mama…Dear
Mama, O My Mama!
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Of Beasts and Birds
One evening
in a shrink’s office, a huge giant of a man with golden hair, wearing a bold
red tie was lying on the couch.
Tell me,
Your Highness, what brings you here?
You see, I
wanted to do great things and was also doing many great things but suddenly for
the last few days I am seeing things that I do not like.
Can you
please give me in more details as to what you have been seeing and
experiencing?
The other
day I was in my office and a big bad bird jumped up and pooped before me. A
month ago, it was bad enough for a kid to put the dirt from his nose on my desk;
today, this is the ultimate insult!
What beast,
being or bird could dare do that to you Sir?
It was a
big… very big bird which was white in colour and wore a black coat.
You mean it
was a penguin, Sir?
I don’t
know the name but it was definitely not an American bird. Must be an illegal
immigrant bird.
What else,
Sir?
Another
day, I was doing a meeting with my core team and whenever I tried speaking, a
strange voice would come from my throat.
What sort
of sounds came out, Your Highness?
Faint sort
of barking.
Was there a
dog in the room?
Did you
just say doge?
No Sir, I
said dog. Spelt as D..O..G.
No, there
was no dog there but there suddenly appeared a wriggly fat thing lying on the
floor.
What did the
animal look like?
You see, it
had a cute face and looked at me like a pup but it did not have legs and the
tail resembled that of a fish.
The shrink
opened up his iPad to show the man some pictures.
Yes… that’s
the one.
Oh, that’s
a seal. But what is a seal doing in your office?
Did your
security team check on them?
Ya, they
did. I told you these illegal immigrants are the problem. These creatures are from
some islands that are about four thousand kilometres off the coast of
Australia, almost close to Antarctica. I am sure my predecessor allowed all
such creatures easy entry into my great land. Some dirty islands called Heard
and McDonald… not related to me in in any way.
But that’s
just two bad instances. It must be a security breach that they entered in your
office. But why have you come to me?
You see… I
am unable to sleep. I close my eyes and I see these penguins and seals dancing
on my bed, walking on the window and making noise all through the night. When I
walk in my gardens, these creatures and their likes come charging towards me,
making funny faces.
Understood,
Sir. You have a serious problem and it will take me the next four years to cure
you. For every sitting, I will charge you $100,000.
You have been ripping off my country men and women for far too long. Now you are doing the same to me. This stops today! It is liberation time for us and going forward, instead of me paying you, you will pay half of what you have been charging us for years. Your money will make me and my country rich, very rich!
SS
