“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
The most peculiar thing happened on the eleventh of November, just as the snow had begun to drift down. The snow assumed a peculiar shape, like a man frozen in snow. Passers-by ventured ahead to rescue him, but the shadow was elusive for their almost frozen hands. An old lady stepped out of the crowd and … Continue reading The Frozen Man
Her partner’s body lay in the coffin, she was dressed in black, but felt no emotion. She went through all the rituals wordlessly, except where the priest asked her to repeat a few words. A lifetime of being put down and constant mental abuse floated through her mind. She had prayed every single day for … Continue reading At last…
She was here to get her face fixed for the big night, but froze at the sight of the woman walking out of the salon. Her nemesis was wearing a replica of her outfit – and this was sold to her as an exclusive piece. Now, is there enough time to dash back home and … Continue reading Replicated
Creative Experiments and More 