“Job completed as per instructions. Flag raised to the recommended height, and set to fly at the stipulated time…” This is another routine report the Admin Head checks every day at work. But today is different. The employee who executed the task has been sacked, and his own job is at stake. “What the hell … Continue reading Patriotism
Somehow, I like the place. It has a strange sense of familiarity – is this what we call déjà vu? I wonder why the inhabitants don’t seem to like me, though they look like old friends or acquaintances. I focus on the tilted architecture, which could easily be the ninth wonder of the world (the … Continue reading The Bloody Carousel
The flood raged over the entire village. She wondered if nature was mimicking her fury, or trying to pour water on it. The rage hadn’t helped, but had refused to die down either. It resembled embers of a slow-burning fire that was consuming her, rather than a raging flood. She closed her eyes and entered … Continue reading Embers
“Presentations should be idiot-proof”, said an ex-boss I don’t remember too fondly. I couldn’t get why we needed to start every story from the alphabet. “Don’t insult the viewer’s intelligence,” said another glib talker who delighted in spewing management jargon, “they already know all this.” I agreed partially, while thinking silently that the terminology should … Continue reading Presentations
“I’ve been here before.” “Are you crazy? You have not travelled alone, and we’ve got you here for the first time,” hissed the mother to her teenage daughter. “There is a brown trunk in the last room. There are gold coins and jewels in that.” We walked ahead to check. There was a trunk, but … Continue reading Thresholds
Her cooking was no match for the culinary talent on the potluck table. Embarrassed, she tried to pull out the white bowl and hide it somewhere. An interested pair of eyes met her gaze, as the strong, masculine hands took the bowl from her hand, “Hey, what do you have there?” A decade later, they … Continue reading Potluck
The star of yesteryears walks into a movie theatre, breaths in the ambience for three hours and walks out – unrecognized. He has done a cameo in the latest release. Box-office collections and publicity campaigns have gone digital. He doesn’t even have a social media account. He was uncomfortable about participating in promos. An artist … Continue reading Stardust
A semi-conscious state does wonders. Just before I lost consciousness, I heard gems uttered by the doc– “This is the 44th surgery this month. Needless to say, it was not needed. But I’m richer by a few millions.” They didn’t know I’m a social media marketer. The story went viral. (278 characters) https://thedarknetizen.wordpress.com/2019/06/25/twittering-tale-transplant/
A master of seventeen languages, he was widely sought by embassies as an interpreter. He studied writing techniques and literary expressions in different languages, and earned his doctorate on such a comparative study. He married an outstanding woman of many accomplishments on one of his foreign postings, and was envied by his countrymen for the … Continue reading Wordsmith
Harish broke all records in the examination. But you know what … I’d advised him to join X coaching classes. Harish has been a topper from the first grade. You saw their new house? I was the first to get arched doorways in this town, and now many have followed suit. Arched doorways have been … Continue reading You blew it
