Category: Stories

  • The Ugly Duckling

    That was exactly the way she thought her life had turned out to be… and what a life it was…from the beginning, everyone had hopes and aspirations that were somehow connected to her, she felt as though a million destinies were somehow entwined with hers…. she was expected to look beautiful, to be smart and grow up to be wise, to be nice and kind to her smaller cousins, and especially to her twin brother…
    She had failed on almost all counts, and hence was considered an ugly duckling who didnt deserve to be around.. her friendly overtures were met with scorn or sometimes even worse, she was betrayed by those who she thought were on her side.. the fact that she was not married also didnt help her cause… well, for a while she was going around with someone but then she realised it wasn’t going anywhere.. it turned out to be a good thing because he just made it a habit of breaking up after that…
    But it seemed now, that she was gradually turning into a swan… everyone who saw her, or heard about her were all praise for her, and about the way she was maturing… everyone was betting on her to be an eventual success story, and create a mark in the world, because she was excelling in whatever she took an interest in – from IT and biotech to music and movies, the world was sitting up and taking notice…it was finally seeming that it was all worth it – all the people, all the languages, all the costumes and all the celebrations, all the hills and all the mountains, all the rivers and all the seas, and all the states she was made up of..yup, that was a life, and a life that was still far from its true potential.. for this woman, life would be sweet after 60…

    until next time, jai hind 🙂

  • The Day the World changed

    He experienced the first attack in his own route, in his own regular starting point… he was lucky not to be scarred for life… his mind was in a turmoil, it had never happened to him, he had heard about such things happening in other parts of the world, and to other people, but this was his regular haunt, a place that was almost a second home to him, where he spent time everyday..it couldnt happen here…
    he blinked and looked around to see if he had been dreaming.. a few glances and a couple of questions later, he was sure that it was very real indeed.. but he was still in denial.. he tried calling a couple of people or sending sms.. he partially succeeded and got in touch with guys from other locations as well as guys further ahead on his own travel route.. it was happening everywhere, and everyone was affected…
    he didnt quite know what to do.. honestly he wasnt prepared for this kind of stuff, and he wanted answers.. who had done this, more importantly why… he got the answers a while later – LeT, SIMI, and this was only a reaction.. but hell, how in the world was he connected, what had he done to deserve this… he, along with all the others who had been affected, was just going about his life..he didnt know who to blame and how to react… of course, he could join the entire gang and condemn and send mails and demand explanations, but the damage had been done…
    but there was something he could do, he promised himself that when it was all over, he would visit every single person he had been acquainted to in his route, and tell them how much he feared for them while all this was happening, and how much he missed reading them…so from cynic and anz and aqua to the monk and joe and everyone in between, i am dropping into share the grief we all went through 🙂
    7/17 shall always be remembered as the day when our worlds collapsed..

    until next time, as if writer’s blocks werent enough!!

  • Bait and watch

    He was always fascinated by tales of fearless hunters, especially the ones who laid it all on the line for a particular kill… and the ones who extended the thrill to their loved ones, and today he would join that elite, when he would use his wife as the bait, for that one spectacular kill.. ofcourse the fact that the intended prey would not be able to wound her fatally did dilute the effect, but he was still thrilled.. especially since she didnt know about it… in fact, she was quite surprised by his insistence on her spending quite a lot of time in the same spot..
    He had been hunting in the area for quite some time, and managed to kill most of its kith and kin, but it was a wily creature and had eluded him repeatedly, and was now alone, one of its kind in the expanse around… he remembered the ease with which he had single handedly annhilated the entire clan in his previous hunting ground, and felt confident…he waited patiently from dusk, for that was the time it started its day..
    she was oblivious to the drama she was part of.. it watched from far, it saw her, and then saw him, and immediately sensed the plan, the way any living being could, when its mortality was brought to the fore…but it was thrilled too, it smelt another chance of shaming him.. it approached cautiously, hovering around the area, but never too close… it saw her trying to get up, and him asking herto wait a bit… it saw him watching and acknowledged by making a closer foray than before…it would attack only when it was sure he was getting impatient and restless, and therefore careless…
    and she was the one to give it the opportunity… after hours of being in a place, she finally had enough of his reasoning and got up to leave… he was busy trying to stop her.. it sensed the opportunity and attacked… it had no intention to kill, just a bite, and his defeat … but the bite hurt her enough and she attacked, and so did he…but it was expecting the attack, and easily escaped… to fight another day…he swore in frustration…. Cox Town’s mosquitoes were indeed superior to their koramangala counterparts…
    until next time, reality bites…

  • On a different Note

    Rs.1000 – a single reddish note.

    She gave the single note to the salesgirl and smiled in satisfaction. The money was equal to a day’s pay for her, but it was worth it. She had gotten herself a bottle of tan lotion, something she could use on her vacation to the beach. she was looking forward to the sun, the sand, and the time away from her relatives.
    She took out the 10 notes and counted them again, just to be sure, and smiled in satisfaction. It was the money she had earned in a fortnight, by selling groundnuts on the beach. Enough money for a short trip home. She was looking forward to a few days away from the sun and the sand and a little time spent with her relatives.

    until next time, the price we pay…

  • Quite Contrary

    Jo was thinking of the day he had left his small town.. He hadnt been a happy man then .. his trade wasnt giving him the kind of money that would enable him to lead a comfortable life, it wasnt even giving him enough to survive.. and to top that he had recently gotten himself engaged to a beautiful woman. Not that it was bad in itself, but the shameless young men in his town had made it a habit to ogle at her, and the frequent fights he was having with them had put off several potential customers…he wasnt suspicious of his wife to be, but it was just that it wasnt in her nature not to smile back at anyone who smiled at her, and several guys took this as very suggestive…And he so desperately wanted to wed her, but he felt he wasnt financially secure enough to do so.. and so, one day, when she told him that she was pregnant, he didnt quite know how to react.. for all his friends knew how, inspite of his intense desire, he had been keeping himself in check… and no one would believe that there was a divine intervention in his becoming a father..
    And that was how he had left the town. now several months later, here he was, in the small town of Jerusalem, looking at Mary, who would deliver the child any moment.. Here he could claim the child as his own, and celebrate its birthday every year in peace…He felt bad that she was going to give birth to the child in a stable, but he was a confident that things would take a turn for the better soon. Yes, Jo was a happy man now..

    until next time, hope it was a merry christmas 🙂
    PS: last year….