My stories

“I hope you booked the tickets for the December trip”. “Uh huh” replied Rakesh distractedly. He had been poring over the newspaper all morning. It was a Sunday and that meant, he spent at least half an hour reading his favourite section, the horoscope. “You know, my sister and her family already booked their flight. It is my father’s 75th birthday celebration. It will be quite a shame if we are not able to go”, Neeta insisted. “Yes, I know but my horoscope tells me that I should avoid making any large expenses before 3 pm on Wednesday”
 He only heard clanging of utensils as a sign of her exasperation. He knew how annoying she found all these ideas and beliefs, but this is what made of major part of who he was. “You missed out on that job interview which would have paid you twice as much salary, only because you refused to travel on any vehicle on that day and walked instead. Only if I had known about this idiosyncrasies, I would have never agreed to marry you” Rakesh continued to rea...

   Part 1    Anisha picked up the last few cups from the New Year’s party last night. They hosted one every year, and it was something all their friends looked forward to. Anisha and Kapil enjoyed hosting the party and spent days making sure the guests were entertained, well fed. As much as she enjoyed the party, she also enjoyed the quiet morning next day. Everyone was still asleep, and it was the perfect time to play some Ghazals from her favorite playlist. Holding a cup of steaming Kahwa, she walked to the window. It could have been yet another morning, but it felt special, there was a feeling of something new. It was a new year after all. ‘Beep’ suddenly the song was interrupted with a sound. She had taken the trouble to mute her WhatsApp. She knew her phone storage would not forgive her at the end of the day. She was, after all, a part of several groups including family groups, society ladies group, some random cooking group, kids’ school groups and some th...

There are a few places that invoke a feeling of dread within me. You know that feeling you get when you are alone in a room and cold air blows on your spine. Dentist’s clinic is surely one. Beauty parlors are another. I detest going to either places and make all kinds of Herculean efforts to avoid going to either. Even if it means researching on the net for hours looking for ways to make the pearlies whiter, or splurging on all kinds of flossing, brushing stuff from all over  the world. And in case of parlors, just plain denial most of the times. “I don’t really need to go through painful ripping of hair on my body just to wear a skirt! I can just NOT wear a skirt or a pair of shorts. I can go through the Indian summers wearing more clothes than someone would in a temperate winter”. I do land up sometimes taking the boy for his monthly hair cut. Luckily, the daughter is too vain about her genetically fabulous hair and doesn’t cut it. But the boy loves having his hair cut reall...

Second chance “Mom, I will see you next week! Your coffee is in the microwave, a strong one for a strong woman” Rashi heard as Anika left for her training. Rashi walked into the kitchen and took the cup of coffee out of the microwave. She smiled as she saw which cup Anika had picked, ‘World’s best mum’. Anika had saved her pocket money for several weeks when she was twelve, to buy Rashi that cup for her birthday that year. As Rashi sat at the dining table, the cold morning breeze made her shiver. She walked in and got her shawl and stepped out on the balcony. Rashi loved the nip in the air that beckoned winter. Winter was her favorite season and ever since she had moved to Pune, she knew how precious those few days were. She had taken a few weeks off from work and for the first time in many years, she had a peaceful morning to herself. Rashi had met Anuj at her graduation party. He was her friend’s older brother and he was visiting her from USA. Her friend had dragged him alo...

As the aroma of coffee wafted in the air, it caught her attention. That smell reminded her, that she had been working for too long. The woody yet fruity smell reminded her of the treks in the Midwestern countryside, of freshly cut grass and falling leaves in autumn. And the cinnamon-y smell also reminded of cold December mornings spent in the coffee shop on her university campus, sipping a cup of warm coffee, watching the snow fall and her favourite song playing in the backgr ound. And it also reminded her of the time spent with him, drinking several cups of coffee together, arguing about which coffee tasted the best. She always preferred a good strong robust cup and he always liked to try adding flavours to make his cup ‘interesting’. ‘You ruin it’, she complained, and he just smiled. When they met 20 years ago, sparks didn’t burst, angels didn’t sing. She was fighting with a guy who was driving on the wrong side of the road. She had the choicest words to say to him and everyone ...