i was looking at this shot above when i suddenly thought of perfection. it’s a simple iphone shot, a top angle view of some flowers floating in an urli. i was enjoying the play of colours, shapes, freshness… the word beauty was bound to drift into mind. my eyes strayed over the tiny red flowers, i don’t know their name, to the playful red powderpuffs, to the pink frangipanis, and as i reached and stared at the white jasmines, this…
“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…
the jalebis were large with so many swirls in them, they were orange and hot and sticky. even though the tears blurred her vision, khushi was determined to count the number of spirals on the one right on top. a whole heap of jalebis sat before her. she could feel their sweet succulence, their crumbly crust she knew would crack under the most gentle pressure from her teeth and out would flow, no pop, the delicious… khushi swallowed… warm, perfectly…
INDEX the lights diminished to a low almost eerie, then were completely extinguished. darkness was all around. the hum of voices died down. stillness came and settled into the black quiet space. hands reached out and fingers intertwined, pens were put down on notebooks, fingers alert on shutter buttons took a break. people were mystified, even frightened. yet there was a waiting… bated breath… a hush of expectation. sound came first, then light, reversing the order of nature. feet…
the pooris were heaped high on the stainless steel plate, white, fluffy and still steaming. in a bowl next to them, the potato curry looked delicious, a bright green chilli sat right on top, khushi noticed it was shining. like his eyes, she thought. she swallowed hard and tried to fight her tears. “c’mon, guys, dig in,” salman said with gusto as he swooped down on his makki ki roti and tore a piece grinning at kareena and khushi. kareena…
INDEX asr breathed in sharply. what was that? he’d felt something spike near the middle of his chest. a warmth seemed to be spreading in the centre of his throat. his eyes had gone still. she was standing there at the top of the stairs… stairs he had rushed up and down practically every day of his adult life… his stairs, dammit. and she was now there, adorned in layers of red that he had seen in his mind,…
INDEX anjali woke up and grinned. chhotey was getting married today, in fact, this very evening. she lay in bed a moment longer to smile happily up at the ceiling while she patted her belly absentmindedly. suddenly she frowned and pursed her lips, as a sense of urgency came rushing over her. there was a shadi… no no no no… two weddings in their family today. what was she doing taking it easy and dreaming in bed! she had…
INDEX “how… could… you… even… think.. you could get away from me, dammit?” asr asked khushi in a voice roughened by need, rasping for it tries to hide hurt. the call to the guptas had been made. now he wanted to get back to doing something about that bright alive feeling he was assailed by after two nights practically of no sleep. he had paused between the words to kiss her on her eyes, cheeks, forehead… khushi’s eyes were…
INDEX the night was still, a quiet darknesss all around. the dogs hadn’t yet started howling as they often did around this time. khushi had no idea what the time was as she sat shivering on the floor, staring at the benignly smiling face of devi maiyya. her mind was in a blur, her gaze was blank, every once in a while her eyes welled up with unstoppable tears and she swallowed hard to hold them back, not let any tear…
INDEX water of love deep in the ground no water here to be found some day baby when the river runs free i’ll carry that water of love to me… akash’s voice rose on the last “water” and fell to a soothing mellow thereafter, and yet there was an underlying fire in it… “love to me” he sang completely immersed, his head swayed a little, his shoulders moved to the beat, his hands tapped the bench they were sitting…