Continuity of Illusions

She was in a place where her clothes of light and reflections were all dropping off. She looked at the mirror from different angles hoping to catch a better view of herself, but the images felt like a conspiracy against her proven supremacy. Gradually, the music stopped and she heard her own hoarse voice – … Continue reading Continuity of Illusions

Free Flow

“Haven’t we done this word before?”, screams the disciple, “there’s a whole damn dictionary with 2,73,000 words to try.” “I wish you a successful career being a web crawler scanning words or an AI tool internalizing all that you read”, says the teacher as she engages in her newfound passion for experimenting with web tools, … Continue reading Free Flow

Musings

I lost the license to the stock photo despite having paid a hefty price for it. Is it a consolation that the photo has lost its premium with the advent of artificial intelligence? We mourn losses on losing the exalted ground beneath our feet built over decades of hard work, attention to detail and manipulation. … Continue reading Musings

The break of dawn

“When you don’t feel up to the task, check the premises you are coming from because there’s a contradiction somewhere between belief and action,” her mentor’s words ring loud in her ears. “Beliefs do change”, she tries to convince herself. “People believe because they’ve got to believe in something, and what they choose is something … Continue reading The break of dawn

Breaking free

As the clock struck midnight, Clara found herself at the crossroads of life, torn between a cozy past and uncertainty of the future. The sounds of joyous laughter and clinking glasses only intensified the ache in her heart.  Lost opportunities and shattered dreams haunted her, casting a shadow over the celebrations. With a heavy sigh, … Continue reading Breaking free

Educated, but dependent

“Don’t trouble your pretty head about money …. I’m there to manage life for you”, is an oft-repeated remark Aurelia hears from her wonderful husband and is grateful for it. She is a chartered accountant who audits financial transactions of large corporations, but finds this domestic arrangement cosy. “I’ve been thrown out of the house, … Continue reading Educated, but dependent

Cascading stories

“Speak a lie ten times, and people take it as the gospel truth, but it takes a lot of effort to craft and layer a series of lies to make it credible,” the coach is from the corporate world but is training a bunch of youngsters to enter the political arena. “… and you need … Continue reading Cascading stories

Anonymity

She dares to venture beyond the limitations of villagers’ thoughts and is immediately labelled a vile witch, for treading unfamiliar ground with incomprehensible intent. A woman who crosses boundaries needs to be punished for a demo effect, to preserve a precious culture holding vintage value, lest other females ditch their housekeeping and child-bearing roles and … Continue reading Anonymity

Fractals

Fascinated by the snowflake that landed on her glove, she decides to venture out of the room. She takes out her magnifying glass to see the intricate pattern where each branch of the snowflake had smaller branches that looked similar to the whole. She wonders if this is for real, and how far this detail … Continue reading Fractals

Uncaged

I decide to let it all go today. The stress I’ve felt in every pore of my being originates from a position of uncertainty – knowing where I come from but not knowing where will I go. I’ve struggled to make sense of where I am, by linking up a resentful past to a promising … Continue reading Uncaged