Midnight Soliloquies

I’m in your city after a long time. It’s strange how much it has changed since. Yet some things have remained the same as before like the air, still hot, humid and heavy with lingering traces of salt. It makes me happy to think that at this moment, you and I, though physically far apart,…

Flower Fairies- A Memoir

October has always been my favourite time of the year. It is the month of festivities and a precursor to the dark wintry days ahead. A time when the mornings are chilly and the evenings — which arrive a tad hastily — envelop you in an orangey-pinkish glow. As a child I used to wait…

Evanescence

I first noticed her in a sea of faces, radiating differently, smiling at almost everything that came in the periphery of her sight. Her gaze was dreamy and filled with tentative hopes and fragile wishes. And the visage, it was something otherworldly- absolutely naked, flawless, and truthful like a baby. She floated through the crowded…

Kadambari

The feeling of alienation, which a woman from a poor family would often experience in a house full of wealthy and excessively proud aristocrats. Kadam quietly endured the snide remarks of her older sisters-in-law, who would often make fun of her poor father who was unable to arrange for a handsome dowry at the time of her wedding. But Rabi was different. Unlike the other members of the family, this budding poet wasn’t pretentious. She became his literary muse.

Post the Masterpiece

A creator, irrespective of his exceptional gifts, can never replicate the level of perfection and beauty of his masterpiece.In the solitary room, he would sharpen his tools, trim the brushes, grind and mix pigments, stretch and level the canvas on the wall, and then get busy capturing the initial impression of the subject he had in his mind. However, it would never be the same.

The Healer

Magi works in a luxury hotel spa. She is an expert in aromatherapy oils and herbal massages. Her vast knowledge of natural remedies and medicinal baths surprises and impresses her extensive list of clientele and is the reason they keep coming back to her for more. Two drops of lavender oil on the pillow would…

Escape

Aylan woke up covered in soot and with a throbbing headache. Squinting his eyes to adjust to the sharp glint of sun, he licked his lips and tasted the dry salty blood and bitter grime. With great difficulty, he stood up and gauged the destruction that laid before him. His village was reduced to a…

Silks and Legacies

“See, how beautiful you look in that colour,” the old woman said trying to get the young lady’s attention. “I am your daughter. Therefore, it is obvious that you’d find me beautiful even when I am dressed in tattered clothes, right?” the young woman brushes off the compliment with a smile on her face. Her…

The other woman

“He is no more. He too has left me. Why does everyone I love, leave?” She was sobbing over the phone. The call was brief and her sudden emotional outburst rendered me speechless; I couldn’t say anything to comfort her. Hers was a tormented soul, bereft of any hope of finding love again, I could…

The Mysterious Woman

A young archeologist meets a mysterious young woman on a stormy night in an old deserted mansion. The story is based in the post-independence era. Do give a dekko by clicking the link below. Can’t post the story here as it features on Juggernaut Books now.   https://www.juggernaut.in/books/e97c017ef7144c35