“Most people cannot not eat this chocolate muffin, if left with it alone and hungry,” Jigneshbhai said staring at the three muffins that the waiter got with our coffee the other day. Swami also stared at them first and then glared at Jigneshbhai, who was still staring at the muffins. Then Swami picked up one … Read more
At 6.04 am, the alarm went off. “Mummy,” he howled from under the blanket. There was no response. He pulled the blanket doubly over his face so that the sound of the alarm doesn’t disturb him. It kept ringing. “Mummy…. Mummy,” he yelled again at the top of his voice after a minute. He turned … Read more
It had been almost six months now that Kirthana had been bedridden. It had been six months since her husband Karthik had been her caregiver. “Another silent day, another silent night. What a useless life!” the thirty something Karthik said to himself. Kirthana tried to move her left hand and leg but her best efforts … Read more
The other day over coffee, Jigneshbhai told Swami “Decide and automate your investments so that you don’t give yourself a chance to change your mind.” Swami revolted. “But there are always unforeseen circumstances due to which I want to change my mind,” he said. Jigneshbhai smiled and said, “Leave some space to foresee the unforeseen, … Read more
In Varanasi, Pappu Pandey gazed at his dear friend Lalu Mishra’s dead body on the pyre. He stood next to Lalu’s son Pratap waiting for proceedings to begin. He was at a makeshift crematorium ghat next to the main one at Manikarnika. It was for people who had passed away due to the lethal pandemic … Read more
Do you like stories about life, death, and human behaviour with a twist? Welcome to Kaleidoscope – short stories of many hues – which will haunt you, tingle your spine, provoke thought and, often, bring a smile. What if a patient in coma can hear everything around her? Why does an old man find an … Read more
It was a place where time stopped. The beauty was overwhelming. Rohan couldn’t get his eyes off the scene. He saw his father get the camera out and click a picture. “Tavleen would have loved being here,” Mr Rana said. “If only…she were here,” he sighed. “It is a spell-binding scene of nature,” Rohan agreed … Read more
Swami woke up the following day counting his blessings and realised that the tally did add to something that was not insubstantial by any means. “We have each other for company first,” he told Jigneshbhai and me. “And I have a boss like Raichand who gave me a week of leave on his own,” he … Read more
The strange thing about my new neighbourhood is that the screaming happens every day. Or more precisely, every night. It starts just before midnight and goes on way past it. Sometimes it goes on for two hours or more. With every passing minute, the screams just keep getting louder. They start with a loud scream … Read more