Musings, facts and fun

“I am not going to school today”, Ruhi whined stomping her feet as her face continued to turn red. “Yes, you are. You just cannot miss school for random reasons”, I sternly retorted while bundling up her lunch case. “Mom! Have a look outside, it’s raining heavily. My clothes and shoes will get all wet and dirty”, she tried to point me towards the heavy downpour outside, standing on her toes to reach the window I sighed. Unlike most kids her age, Ruhi was extremely punctilious to ensure her clothes didn’t have even the tiniest bit of dirt. “The monsoon season has started, Ruhi. The weather will be like this for months; and I am not letting you miss school anymore. Now, why don’t you make it easy for both of us and wear your rain jacket and get ready to go. Come on, I know how much love your new red polka dot raincoat, don’t you? And since you are so particular about getting dirty, I will also keep your old jacket in your bag as a spare. Now, Is it okay?” I said as I motione...

"I am going to Tracy's place dad; don't wait for dinner!" Jamie cried out from the patio before shutting down the door noisily behind him. Phil smiled briefly as he got seatead next to the window while watching his son pull out his bike from the garage underneath. He knew the phase of life Jamie was going through very well. He, too, had been in the same juvenile days; which though were ages back, yet seemed to have happened just a while back. Those are the times when a man is teeming with energies and rebellion; his desires being wildly turbulent. While his mind got teleported to his heyday, he chuckled at the thought of the craziest things he did in his life; traveling almost half the world with no money; falling in love with Amanda, the prettiest girl in town; pestering all his teachers all the time; and how he drank and ate uncontrollably. It was young blood after all; passionate, energetic and untamed. With numerous memories of his youth chiming i...

Following is a story that was conjured more than a year back; only making its way to the blog today. I owe my vote of thanks to Rohit sir for the discussion we had that laid the foundation of the idea. Sitting at the window pane at twilight with a cup of hot tea and peering across Mumbai landscape used to be Natasha’s favorite daily regime. She felt rejuvenated staring at the endless expanse and the infinite commixing of the sky and the sea, which used to act as her daily dose of new energies and ideas.  Moving in to the sea side apartment was one of the best decisions she had taken. It was always a relaxing experience to glance out and find kids playing in the nearby park, couples walking along the cobblework, and the spectacular setting sun. But, that day when she was in dire need of a good story for her magazine ‘Diva’, the sickening sight outside pathetically failed at generating ideas and her mind was all void. There are some days when the yellow dwindling li...

“Trriiiing”, the door bell rang for the third time.. ‘’Not again Shanta bai!!! Can’t I get a moment of peace in my own home??”, I cried out. I kept tossing in the bed and plopped down with my hands pulling the pillow over my ears hoping that Shanta Bai would go away. She didn’t and shortly the bell rang again, this time  longer and shriller than before. I shrugged and got up; and as I swung myself out of bed the sheet entwined my legs and got pulled along. Groaning, I made my way downstairs; reached the door and pulled it open. “Shanta bai kitni baar bola aapko!!” I shouted out at the poor petite figure standing outside. “Sorry?”, came the reply like a melody. What! this definitely wasn’t the croaky throat of Shanta Bai. I squinted and rubbed my eyes hard to budge them open. They almost popped out as I saw the figure of a pretty young girl dressed in blue salwar kameez standing in front of me. She tucked at the loose end of her white dupatta and was staring at me with an ...

She smiled as she recounted her 10 th birthday when wrapped in a pink glaze paper, her uncle gave the book ‘The Love Magic’ in her hands. ‘She is just 10. This is her age to do math and to not read some fancy love fantasies not meant for her age’, she had overheard her mum talking furiously  to uncle John over the phone, soon after the party ended and they had finished unpacking all gifts. But this did not bother Erica; it rather stirred her curiosity as she quickly flicked open her bedside lamp and got started to unfolding her new possession. She read for 6 hours continuously that night, she read about Katie, about Mark, about their magical love. ‘Magic doesn’t happen in real life honey, these books just present a rosy picture of everything. But you have to be careful and just can’t be hoping for some thing to happen’, is what mum told her over breakfast the other day. Erica’s puffy eyes did little to hide the fact that she spent the whole night reading the book and mum kn...

At 10 minutes before midnight, the confetti spread with an explosion and instantly blanketed the sky in a golden white slush. The celebration had already been kicked off even before the clock could strike the first hour of the New Year. Ravi glanced out of his hotel room and saw people drinking and dancing on loud music in the garden downstrairs, where Mr.Mehrotra, the business tycoon, had thrown a lavish party.  The festivities around him reminded him of his home. He spent his childhood with his younger sister Meenu and mother in a small village near the coast. His mother would be mostly ill and so he had to leave school and work as a delivery boy to support the house. He was known to always reach on time and execute each assignment so well that several grocery and meat shops employed him. He used to bring home 400 each month from the shops and a handful of more money if some customers were generous enough to give a tip after delivery. Every morning his day started with cle...

She walked on the cold vapid soil while thoughts continued to race through her mind. The trees, the soft cool breeze and the lake: everything was just the same as it used to be 2 years back when she was here; all except for her feelings. She remembered how buoyant she was as she made her way through the sea of staring faces down the aisle, her happiness rising as she strode each step towards her groom, the sparkle in his eyes, the assuring smile on his face. Ahh, grief struck her as she thought about that day, the day of her marriage when at this very spot she had taken vows with Mike of being together and how those got broken in just two years. Though it had just been a small time but seemed ages have past since that day, as many things had happened in the span destroying their relation that she couldn’t even sense when that eternal love faded away. She failed to comprehend if those were misunderstandings, mistakes or just a wrong decision, but she knew only one thing that tomorro...

She glanced at the lush green grass outside and reminisced the last time she had walked barefoot on it. The rustle of the grass, yielding of sand and the touch of soft wet soil. This was an unusual moment for she could see all her life flash before her eyes, in spite of her frenzied attempts to fight the memories back. Countless thoughts swarmed as she recounted her childhood, her teens, the days with her friends and family, the incessant laughter, the long talks, the career highs. Not that her life only had sunny days, she indeed had seen many ups and downs, and many dark nights, but none of them were comparable to the darkness she now felt around her. She was lying down curled up on a hospital bed in a cramped room. The emptiness of the room managed to match the emptiness she was feeling inside. She lifted her head and glanced at the pallid roof and whispered, her voice breaking, ”Why me? Why it had to be me?”, trying invain to elicit an answer from the one sitting above, one who...