The Little Drop

Ram was sitting alone in his room. It was Hostel night in college. There was a party. There would be drinks. There would be music. There would be dance. Ram had no interest in all that. He has been a good boy for so long. His parents were proud of him. All his friends drank. Some of them smoked. He remained a teetotaler, despite being amidst them. It was the final year. This was going to be the last party. 

He heard a knock on his door. It was Ravi. He called Ram for the party. 

“Just be there and have some fun. You needn’t drink.” 

Ram could not refuse. He went to the party. All his friends were drinking. Seeing him, they offered him a drink. He politely refused. Then they insisted. 

“Just have a little drop. Here! It’s hardly anything.”

Ram looked at the minute quantity of alcohol in the glass offered to him. He was caught in two minds. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him. Just a little drop. My first and last, he thought. He licked it in.

3 years later:

Ram was working late. He had an office party to attend. His parents had just come to visit him for a couple of days. The clock was ticking. It was past midnight. Still no sign of him. A mobile rang. Ram’s dad picked up the call.

“Sir, your son Ram is lying unconscious here in … He looks heavily drunk…”

The next evening:

Ram was talking to his colleague Ankit. 

“I don’t understand. I have never seen my parents this upset. They left without informing me today. I know I got a little drunk. But what really happened?”

Ankit felt like slapping him. Then he told him.

Drunk. Puke. Road. Unconscious. Police. Station. Dad. Mom. Crying. Pleading. Police Warning. Auto. Coming Home. 

Ram looked at himself in the mirror. He felt devastated. He was a good boy. Why did he become what he had become - a drunkard? What started it?

Then he remembered. 

The Little Drop. 

Supposed to be his last. It never was. It never is.

It all started with that little drop. 

It always starts… with a little drop!!

A New Identity

Anand was depressed. He was just given a memo in his office. What did he do? Nothing! He just wrote from his heart. Who would have thought that his writings would lead him to such trouble? He wrote with all the freedom that a writer could dream of. No holds barred. Unflinchingly straight. Unscrupulously honest. No words minced. Politics, current affairs, daily life, and pretty much everything found its place in his writing. He did not think that someone would get wind of his blog and put word to his boss. His boss did not like the content, for it seemed to criticize him. The boss was annoyed. This was not expected from his employee. He should be taught a lesson. He should know his position and responsibilities. He should be given a memo. And thus a memo was given. 

Anand sat wondering. He did not want to give up writing the stuff that he liked. What could he do now? He switched on the TV. Harry Potter movie. A character on screen wrote ‘TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE’ in the air with his wand. With one flick of the wand, the letters rearranged themselves to become ‘I AM LORD VOLDEMORT’

EUREKA!! An idea struck!

He wrote his name on a piece of paper – ANAND. Shift the first ‘A’ to the last – NANDA. Yess! A new writer called Nanda was born that day.

A couple of months later, he walked into his boss’ cabin. His boss was talking to his PA. “Did you check out this blog? Written by a guy called Nanda. Great stuff!’

Anand smiled to himself. Writer Nanda is popular now.