The fragrant cloud

  PIANO SCHOOL A friend in need is a friend indeed. Friendship can take various forms. The budding friendship between toddlers, the committed friendship between adolescents and the relaxed friendship between adults. Whatever the type is, friendship is charming! One such charming friendship comes to my mind today…. My eldest son was in kindergarten. In my enthusiasm to educate my first born, I had put him in school one year before the recommended age.   So, the teachers noticed him and his classmates, though all of them were toddlers, had a protective attitude towards him. He was treated by everyone like the youngest sibling. As the months went by, finally, it was time for the final exams of kindergarten class. Exam had no great significance to these kids. It was just another routine class. The only difference was that they were supposed to write the numbers and the alphabets without looking at the books. On the day of the maths exam, my son came home with a sad face. When I

  Hail Nature! No one can assuage the tantrums of Nature. Recently, a hailstorm wreaked havoc in a small valley surrounded by a multitude of hill ranges. That valley happens to be my home town too. The day started as a bright Sunday in the middle of summer. I had gone to attend a function with the AC full on in my car. Within half an hour of returning home in the afternoon, the day suddenly changed its mood. I thanked God that I was already home.   Wind howled from all sides. The pine trees in our compound swayed wildly in the force of the wind and dashed against the windows of our house. Thunderclaps and lightning streaks in the sky completed the horrifying picture. I usually love the rain and commune with it but this time it invoked fear and respect. Amidst the howling winds and the torrential downpour, suddenly the clouds seemed to be pelting a million stones on earth. The sky must have opened its doors and poured down all its anger on us. When I got a chance to peek out fro