the night closed in around the white mercedes-benz suv as it shot through the empty after hours roads. there was a slight drizzle building up to something more falling lightly onto the asphalt, the large old trees, and the pretty landscaped circles of new delhi. dark windows sat behind high walls and rolling lawns, the rich part of town. he drove without seeing a thing, eyes fixed straight ahead, hands gripping the leather of the steering wheel, knuckles white, his…
“hume lagta hai, you need a hair cut, arnav ji!” khushi blurted out when asr suddenly looked up while fixing his tie and caught her staring at him. (i think… you need a hair cut, arnav ji!) it was seven in the morning, she was still half asleep in bed. she’d heard some noise and her eyes had opened for a moment. he’d walked into the room from the adjoining dressing room just then, in a charcoal waistcoat over a…
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…
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…
INDEX the sand was still and smooth, a supple stretch extending all along and beyond. the water danced and gleamed. seagulls called out loud and almost demanding a ear. feathery white clouds roamed aimlessly about in the powder blue sky. a quiet lapping of waves could be heard along the shore. the edge of water was frilly and had a fine topping of white. khushi felt wave upon wave of feelings fall against her heart. not so peaceful these…
he had just slipped the narrow end of his charcoal grey silk tie into the loop of the single knot when he felt her ram into him from behind. he inhaled sharply, the knot came undone. but before he could react, her arms had come up over his chest and she was holding him tight at the shoulders, pulling him close… he could feel her bury her face against his fine cashmere waistcoat. “hey!” asr shouted, “watch out! what’re you…
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 he frowned darkly as he looked at the faint trace of yellow on the back of his right hand where mami had put a generous dab of the turmeric paste. di had smiled widely as she’d taken a little bit of the paste off his skin and scraped it on the edge of another bowl of the haldi ceremony turmeric she was holding in her hand. “ho gaya!” she had smiled, “now we can take this over to…
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…