Ramana lost his wife during 2nd wave of COVID19. There is a void; he cannot fill. He was under severe depression and, at times, thought of ending his life. He consoles himself that he did everything by his means, from running to a hospital to bribing for a hospital bed or paying an inflated price …
Category Archives: Fiction
Cricket
Those were the pre-liberalization days when Television or Telephone or, Scooters were for riches. In our village, we had a family with a television. They also had a battery backup. After all, electricity was scarce too. Those days, Sharjah Cricket tournaments were hot. By some magic or betting, India and Pakistan would always end up …
Converse
I remember how attracted I was to converse shoes. From my first salary, I visited Sarojini Nagar market and bought half a dozen colors of it. Among all, I liked the red one most. I was watching too many vampires movies those days and attribute my likings to it. What I am going to tell …
Coco, the cat
Coco was not an ordinary cat; Rudra’s life circled around it. He had surrendered himself to Coco. He would care for Coco like his own child. I was surprised to see Rudra maintaining a checklist of food, exercise, vet visit. I had never seen him taking care of his life with such clarity. Every decision …
earrings
It must have been around 9 pm and, the DVG market was buzzing. There were folks busy street shopping. I saw this kid staring at the box of earrings the hawker was selling. I felt like she is imagining to be wearing one of them from the collection. The city was going for a night …
stuck
Gayatri spent all her life in Hassan, a small town on the foothills of western ghats in Karnataka. She was married at the tender age of 16 to Mahesh. Her mother threw a lavish wedding along with paying handsome dowry to Mahesh’s family. Now in her 30’s, Gayatri finds herself more mature. The early days …
Cinema
People think becoming an is the end of it. I would say everything starts afterward, says Ira. It was another humid day during pre-monsoon in Mumbai and, I was sitting inside a crowded CCD, sipping my cold coffee in one corner. Ira is in her early 20’s, round face with cute dimples and an athletic …
Bewra
They would call him Bewra (a drunkard). He looked athletic with a broad chest and around 6 ft in height. He would wear the same torn jeans and a cap written “Attitude” on it. His eyes were brown and, his unshaven mustache, hair made him look like a hippie of the ’80s. He looked like …
the catch
Chinamma is a stout lady in her early 60’s. She had a few chickenpox marks on her face. She was wearing a red sari, jewelry in her ear, nose, and a gold chain on her neck. She was not an ordinary fish seller. Her basket had a fresh catch of Pomfret, Bhetki, Rawas apart from …
vice
There lived a powerful barber. The rulers would bow to him during haircuts and shaving. Those were the times when kings ruled the province. The acting ruler of thrown was a demon. He had all the vices. All he cared about is leisure: whoring and multiplying his wealth by putting more taxes. King could walk …