This is the story of eight-year-old Rani, wedded to a farmer’s son. In those days, small girls were married off to a man much older than them. For it was believed that a man’s best partner would be a woman one-third of his age. Unlike others, Rani’s in-laws […]
Diwali was just around the corner and the much-abhorred cleaning was underway. Anika had just finished with the fan and was now clearing out the loft. Poised delicately on a ladder, her head swathed in a towel to keep the dust-out, she swung […]
One moment they were running around the barren field, and the next they were in a deep pit! Falling on top of each other, it was quite a shock and they struggled to get back on their feet. With the light already fading, it seemed even darker here. […]
The fire behind them crackled as Kate finally gave up her cold war with David observing his calm demeanor as darkness since the Sunset. “What if we are stuck on this island for life?” Kate finally managed to start a proper conversation with him. Lying on her back, […]
“The view through each window will be different”, Saira says in the Malayalam movie ‘Bangalore days’. Is that so? My bedroom-windows always gave the same view. The windows that Amalu opened in the morning. Down there is the play-area. Then a house beyond that. Some trees in between. […]
Abhijeet Tiwari woke up to a surprisingly cool morning, after spending a sleepless night in the humid weather of Chennai. Born and brought up in Gahrwal region he is not used to Chennai weather and welcomed the respite. He was recently posted in Chennai branch of the Trident, […]
“How long will she be?” The coachman said, to no one in particular. One of the footmen, however, replied, “We should have taken a tour of the kingdom instead of waiting here.” “Yes”, agreed the other one. The horses seemed restless as well. They were stomping their feet […]
A knock on the door was what triggered off the chain of events. Anika was clearing the loft, poised delicately on a seven-foot-high ladder. Bingo, was his usual helpful self, prancing around the ladder, making desperate attempts to climb up. The junk had been dumped on the floor […]
An epidemic of daunting proportion had taken over. It all started a few weeks back when a murky greenish-brown hue was overcast on everything around them, a miasma of despair, if you will. Though they looked skyward through wary eyes, the dwellers didn’t make much of it initially. […]
I put the appetizer plate on my knee and was talking to Mr. Avadhanam and Mr. Kamat about the latest developments on the visa regulations. It was getting tough for us to live in a foreign country. The recent shooting victim was a friend and it had us […]
I smiled back at the already smiling Mrs. Avadhanam. She slapped her hand on my shoulder and pointed at her kid playing in the lawn. Mrs. Kamat looked at me and rolled her eyes as I hid a snigger before Mrs. Avadhanam looked back at me. I looked […]
After driving around the city, I took a break at a lounge in Khan market. There were a couple of ladies gathered around a man holding a glass of wine. “Aah! It’s a book reading event.” Being a civil engineer, I have had interacted with men for whom […]
“I will let you play a game, a variation of Russian roulette. I will leave a revolver with only one bullet. You both can decide peacefully who will die. Else one of you will have to kill the other. The choice is yours.“ Arun Shah announced as if […]
It was a lazy afternoon in the Heavens. God was sipping his tea in the garden. The Devil was napping in his hammock at a distance, his rhythmic snore matching the droning bees. All was well there. A shrivelled fellow sneaked besides the hammock and shook the Devil […]
“So when do you think of me?” he rested his head on his wrist, his elbow must have been getting hurt by the small stones beneath. “During my me time and my lost states”, I smiled looking into his eyes, I tried cupping his elbow. In this twilight hour […]
Doctor Prithvi cursed his luck. From the moment he had set foot on Marhi, a secluded tribal village in the Himalayas, he had worked for its amelioration. The previously non-functioning government hospital saw major improvements. He toiled day and night to treat the natives, reduce their pain….and this […]