I could have said so many things to her for that action.It must have been the summer of 2009.I was on my way back home for vacation.It was an evening train starting from Sarai Rohilla.The lady must be in her late 30’s.I could make out a little bit of what she was saying.It must have …
Category Archives: Fiction
beti
I was walking from the station. It was not that dark, just foggy and cold. Northern India gets into a thick sheet of fog. It results in many road accidents and delays in flights and trains. He must have been in his fifty and one eye covered. He mentioned the eye operation he had undergone. …
Bhoot Bangla
I was told several stories about “bhoot bangla” since I grew up.Our parents insisted that we avoid that broken bungalow at all costs. Everybody had their story about “bhoot bangla.” The broken house sits in the center of Andheri in Mumbai.It has survived 70 years like this.Nobody knows the original owners, but everyone has a …
freedom
Aslam is in his early 40s, a chubby man with a beard and a big smile.He reminded me of Santa Claus but in a white kurta pajama.He was a co-passenger on the train to Mumbai. I am not sure if he was fasting during Ramzan.His lips were dry, and in a monotonous tone, he greeted …
U-turn
So, are we moving on, asked Shreya?As if we have any other option, replied Sanjay. Shreya got admitted to a college in the US and wanted to reboot her life. She had no time for long-distance relationships. Sanjay stayed in India to build a non-profit providing education to unprivileged kids. They were together from the …
thulla
Sirji bas English me baat karna zaruri hai kya, wo thulla thulla bolte hai hame aur batamezze karte hai. (They speak in English and treat us disrespectfully). Early morning I was at Ber Sarai sipping tea and eating bun-omelet after a night out; sleep and hunger were killing me. Mukesh Yadav was sipping tea next …
Rangdari
Paisa bhejo 5 lakh cash Nahi to kidnap kar lenge.(send us money else we will kidnap you). The call kept coming. It was an era of Jungle Raj in Bihar. Dr. Kumar is a well-known physician in North Bihar. He has a god-like love among patients, especially those who get treated for free every Saturday. …
double
I have lived in Delhi for over a decade, did schooling and my first few jobs but never visited Sanjay Van. This time around, Ayush took me there for a walk promising to show Delhi I had not seen before. And he was correct on all the accounts. I have known Ayush since his secondary …
beta
Apart from mouth-watering food, proximity to Lalbagh has been my reason to move to south Bangalore. For the past few years, I have become a regular. Earlier it was all about running, which I have cut down and mostly into walking. The knee injury has been on and off. Some faces, families in the park …
Naukari
Ratnam had every qualification needed for a sepoy role in UP police. It was his last attempt. He had no plans to follow the path of his elder brothers and cousins, who were successful gym trainers and part-time bouncers at clubs in Noida. He had his dreams and wanted to pursue them at any cost. …