asato ma sad gamaya tamaso ma jyotir gamaya mrtyor ma amrtam gamaya lead me from ignorance to truth lead me from darkness to light lead me from death to immortality ~~~ the brhadarnayaka upanishad ~~~ he wasn’t sure exactly when the helicopter skids actually touched the ground, his eyes had caught sight of the domes of sheesh mahal a while back even though it was almost dark. the silhouettes had come into view as they approached. unmistakable, familiar, indelibly threatening.…
the bus came out of nowhere. it hurtled down the narrow lane at reckless speed, weaving from side to side, a storm of dry afternoon dust in its wake, a frenzied behemoth on a rampage. he saw it before her. there was no time to lose. “khushi!” why did her name always sound so different on his tongue, a need in it, an excitement, a feeling like no other, that “kh” as he exhaled and carried her name on his…
INDEX paper scrunched up, crumpled into little balls, was strewn all across the carpeted gray office floor. the clock showed 12 midnight. silence all around. not a soul in the office. other than the man sitting there with his elbows on the desk, holding his head in his hands. arnav singh raizada was feeling restless. a terrible restlessness that wouldn’t let him be. he couldn’t think clearly, couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t turn it off and get on with what needed…
i love thee freely, as men strive for right; i love thee purely, as they turn from praise. i love thee with a passion put to use in my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith ~~~ elizabeth barrett browning, how do i love thee ~~~ how he wanted to pick her up in his arms, hold her against him, feel her body, her breath, gather her to himself and never let go. he wanted to put her on that…
INDEX khushi sat in front of devi maiyya, her heart was restless, an unstoppable refrain of unsettling thoughts in it, a strange disquiet. some of it to do with shyam ji and suddenly seeing him here. why did he want his car painted black? but really it was something she had felt she’d heard or sensed in arnav ji’s voice that kept touching nerve ends. plucking at them. resonating. “i’ll come…” that’s all he had said. did he say…
INDEX Chapter 19 Khushi Kumari Gupta stared at her reflection and frowned. She was wearing a pale yellow chiffon saree with embroidered orange roses all along the edges. What was the point of flowers if they couldn’t be seen! She had unsuccessfully been trying to pin up her aanchal so that the flowers showed. With an exasperated sigh she looked at the reflection of Arnav Singh Raizada. He was wearing a navy blue and white horizontal stripped v-neck sweater. Actually,…
and i, infinitesimal being, drunk with the great starry void, likeness, image of mystery, felt myself a pure part of the abyss, i wheeled with the stars, my heart broke loose on a wind. ~~~ pablo neruda, poetry ~~~ she stood by the dark still pool. no breeze in the air tonight, ripples didn’t chase each other across the surface. yet a storm rose in her, tossing her sense of peace, lashing into her; and in its violent whirling…
why did it hurt so much? why did it always hurt to see her eyes grow hazy with tears, her breathing pattern change? why could he feel every rhythm of hers? she was no one to him… no one. just a girl who was crazy, who didn't belong to his world, who had accidentally bumped into him one evening and ever since then… ever since then what? he asked himself. “why can't i stop thinking about you?” he closed his…
sing, goddess, of the rage of peleus’s son achilles, the accursed rage that brought great suffering to the achaeans. ~~~ homer, the illiad~~~ she tried to speak, but the fistful of chana in her mouth was an impediment hard to negotiate. she chomped on it furiously, glaring at him all the while. “what are you doing here?” he spat out. she wanted to answer but… the chana was too dry and his impatience seething. “what… what…” he gritted his teeth,…
INDEX he held her close to him, his arms tight around her. he wanted her there, just like that for a while. everything was spiraling into chaos within. he had to tell di… it would shatter her. again. this world never stopped being cruel… nothing good ever lasted. he’d give anything to see di happy. anything. but how could he turn a cheat into a faithful loving husband. husband. pati. some even said pati dev… god. he flinched at…