Topsy-turvy

How could I have been such a shoddy player? The battlefield looks different and the soldiers placed in wrong positions. The moves were directed by market information, and ‘my eyes and ears out on the field’, but it looks like everybody took me for a ride. Saurabh looks crestfallen on seeing the 360-degree feedback on … Continue reading Topsy-turvy

Control

She senses something out of place before ringing the doorbell. The brass statue of a gunman in the porch looks askance, as his angle of vision changed. It looks like plants have not been watered in the morning. She enters her own house with trepidation as she expects monsters to emerge from the walls and … Continue reading Control

Redemption

She never asked him to choose between her and others. The unspoken fear was ‘what if she’s not the chosen one?’ She put up with different forms of abuse, because singlehood appeared to be an abuse of life purpose. She started wandering in the jungles in a disturbed state of mind, and discovered that life … Continue reading Redemption

Sulking Beauty

I call her my sulking toyheartbreakingly cute she isangry for no reason at timessitting under the tablehiding behind curtainsshe cuts off communication-maybe it’s disappointmentwe fail to meet her expectation disciplined and promptshe starts walkingin reflex action when called-Then she stopsturns back to see ifher sibling darlingwalks in tandem-she takes another momentTo decidewhat she wants to … Continue reading Sulking Beauty

A day in life, not ended yet

A writer sends me stories of people with physical deformities who take to crime; he calls them ‘broken people’ who need salvation.  The news talks about the arrest of an unusually venomous guy who developed a huge Twitter following, and makes a living out of publishing vitriolic remarks on celebrities, and then getting paid to … Continue reading A day in life, not ended yet

Impostor

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0uIHsKjUEmiibuYlxFHno4?si=9c6ec3e2bcaf441f There are three kittens looking like Kitty, probably her offspring. They look at me with curiosity, but my eyes look for my friend. Hope she recognises me… It was a deep bond, but not a free one. Reciprocity was the name of the game. I taught her how to use a laptop and the … Continue reading Impostor

Bleeding stories

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6k1rWg3kQZiDYpf5MXzs5z?si=c19d6daf22a7493f “Whatever you do, you can’t do that.” “But why?” “It will open up not just a can of worms, but a tanker full of serpents.” “Are you talking of the stories of female foeticide and a girl infant killed because she was born blind? Are you talking about the male sex-addict who indulged in … Continue reading Bleeding stories

Filtration

People see what makes sense to them, reality notwithstanding. I find myself visualising and counting the boxes inside their mind, and sadly watch the gist of what I say fall through the cracks. It hampers communication for sure. I start saying something, and then stop - knowing that it will fall between the cracks or … Continue reading Filtration

Fog

The damp fog refused to burn away, eating up their street until the suburb became still and their house an island. This quote knocks at her creativity. The message from her friend looms large on her mind, “The tainted woman CEO of …. Bank is not so bad a person. Her husband is the real … Continue reading Fog

Monochrome beauty

He called after more than a decade. “My daughter is flying to the USA from Delhi. She might call if any assistance is required. “Sure.” The last I’d heard about him was the annulment of his week-long marriage. Maybe he married a widow or divorcee later, and this is a foster child. He was my … Continue reading Monochrome beauty