“helena ji, nobody’s looking, come quickly, have another jalebi!” khushi thrust a crisp orange jalebi at helena and stood in front of the elephant, holding up her pale pink dupatta so a passerby wouldn’t notice what helena was up to. it didn’t occur to khushi even for a moment that her slight frame and translucent dupatta might not quite accomplish the task of “hiding” helena. helena finished her jalebi and nudged khushi with a playful trunk. “no more! nahiiin, not…
The white SUV was speeding away on the Yamuna Expressway, heading towards Agra. Arnav and Khushi had started early in the morning for this road trip. Arnav had a meeting in Agra and decided to take Khushi along to spend the evening at the Taj Mahal. Khushi was thrilled, as this way, while Arnav was at the meeting, she would also be able to spend some time with Preeto, who now lived on the outskirts of Agra. It was a…
The hustle bustle at the office of AR Designs was more than usual. That evening a fashion show was to be held on the top floor of AR Designs. Since morning, there was an inflow of models, makeup artisans, designers, technicians, media men, photographers, etc. The destination of who’s who of the fashion world that day was AR Designs. Suddenly, word spread among the staff that a top model had arrived and ASR was coming down to receive her personally.…
It was a bright sunny morning in Singapore. People were up and about and hurrying with their early morning chores before proceeding towards their workplaces. At the Suntec City Mall, Pam was having her favourite coffee in the coffee shop at the Fountain Terrace, when she heard her phone ringing. “Hello, this is Pam. Who’s speaking?” “Pam, finally I’ve found you. I’ve been searching for your number since a month”, replied the voice at the other end. “Who’s this?”, inquired…
the sun had almost disappeared beyond the tea estates and the faraway mountains. the last rays of light remained, there was an orangey purple hue in the air, on the green tea bushes, the winding paths, and far flung homes and hamlets. khushi’s tiny diamond nose pin glinted for an instant as she turned her face to take a look at herself. she would have walked away after a cursory glance at the mirror, but then her eyes seemed to…
It was the usual hustle bustle at the Dubai shopping mall. Sim, Lavanya’s friend and ex-employee of AR Designs was walking down the corridor of the 2nd floor when she saw a familiar figure at a distance. “Is it … ? Oh, it is him! Wow, he is looking charming as ever”, she thought and walked towards the man whom she had recognised. “Mr.ASR? Hello Sir, how are you?” ASR turned back suddenly upon hearing the voice. He was about…
khushi wondered why the green looked hazy, out of focus. something warm and wet touched her cheek, her vision cleared. it was a tear she realised. that choking sensation near her throat was still there. khushi shook her head not quite conscious of what she was doing… her breathing was getting irregular again. how would she make arnav ji understand? it wasn’t safe here, anything could happen. as the words filtered through, a darkness seized some corner without name, a…
kanumoni held the end of the chadar and with deft, quick fingers twisted the material. in an instant, a series of three triangular folds fell across the edge of the fine white cotton with motifs in black and red, the tassels bobbed playfully. she tucked the point she was holding from where the pleats started, into khushi’s petticoat, over the mekhela. then she leaned closer to take the rest of the chadar around khushi, letting the other end fall over…
it was soft and cool against his fingers. he stroked the fabric feeling its smoothness, its supple texture. the yarn had a natural golden sheen, a deep innate gold that didn’t need to flaunt itself or glitter too obviously. it was rich and comfortable with its beauty. asr held a fistful of mooga and then slowly let it go… watching it fall. “can you make it as light as chiffon, weave a fine transparency in? what do you think, salman?”…
“kk! you look dazed… are you hungry?” salman asked khushi from the front seat of the ambassador car taking them toward margharita tea estate where they would be staying at the guest house. salman’s parents were at a garden nearby, he had wanted to make sure his boss stayed at the best place around here. salman had grown up in assam. he loved the place, in fact, he was almost proud of it… it’s natural beauty, the richness of the…