Afterthought

"The fourfold caste has been created by Me according to the differentiation of Guna and Karma" ~Vyasa “Aniruddha! At this rate, our daughter will never get married.” “What good are these trading families? They are ignorant and stingy and attached to their gold. I don’t see Sunidhi getting married in such families.” “You’ve spoilt your daughter. She is too intelligent and educated for her own good.” “Nandini! I’ve worked all my life for her; so that she lives a life that befits a Goddess. Now, you’re telling me that her intelligence is her curse?” “Of what use is your high philosophy and precious education to her, when young men are intimidated by her? Most of them are their father’s minions anyway. She expects and deserves nothing short of a Brahman and no Brahman is willing to marry a trader’s daughter.” Aniruddha gazed morosely at the carpet for some time, and then, at the sun setting outside. “I should go, the King expects me. Another roll-over of the debt, ...

" Her laughter of mornings has the gaiety of flowers Her nights of darkness, the reflections of lustrous hair Her melodious nightingales, with passion sing their songs Ardent tunes, as leaves enflamed, cascading from their throats "~ Saib-e-Tabrizi Her initials on my jersey were smudged. The number card was falling off, but, the end of the marathon was in sight. The energy drink struggled to get back into the light, and I perspired as if I were back in the tropical humidity. I shut my eyes, imagined her cheering behind the lines, and pushed myself onwards to the finish. It was my first after the injury. I couldn't wait to tell her. I had hurt myself badly while training for last year's event, and didn't run that year. I was devastated, and she had pushed me through it. Through the months of August, while the last days of summer slipped away, she had absorbed my frustration, and through the dark winter days, we kept each other motivated through the recess...

"Don't tell me to go home alone!"~Waters The cherry blossoms were dripping wet in the rain. London, bleak as it were, was trying to wash off the fresh colours on the trees. This evening, it was refreshingly strong, unlike the usual spineless fare that the clouds dished out. I sat on a bench by the river, fascinated by the puddles; the big ones growing bigger, and the small ones vanishing. The pub behind me seemed warm and inviting. I wasn't alone in the cold. A pair of birds seemed to be taking in the impressive view of the cathedral and the bridges. Their silhouttes were confused in the disturbed light from the other side. The rain beat upon its subjects with renewed vigour. He seemed to be looking around, and she appeared apprehensive. With a mighty resolve, he looked straight into her eyes and a few words were spoken. She walked around him slowly, talking. He stepped back from her. She walked away. The rain was now intolerably wet. Home, I decided, would...

"Boy, when you're dead, they really fix you up. I hope to hell when I do die somebody has sense enough to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetery. People comin and puttin a bunch of flowers on you on Sunday, and all that crap. Who wants flowers when you're dead? Nobody" ~Salinger (The Catcher in the Rye) "This is your boarding pass, Mr Harry Haller. Your luggage has been checked in. The flight, I'm afraid has been delayed by five hours. We're extremely sorry about the inconvenience." I decided to amuse myself by trying to figure out how much of the delay was due to the fog in Delhi and how much was due to the snow in London. While I was engaged in this little mental exercise, I overheard a cute voice behind me saying, "Yes aunty, thanks for the paranthas! They were awesome! Such a relief. Probably my last bit of good home food for some time". I turned around to discover that the owner o...

A deep compassion, a hushed sanctuary, Her internal help unbarred a gate in heaven; Love in her was wider than the universe, The whole world could take refuge in her single heart. ( Savitri ~Ghosh) “You’re surely sending those texts to a girl of your interest?” “What?” “Oh, come on! You’ve been fiddling with your phone, and from the sounds of your keypad, editing your texts a thousand times before sending it, and then, you wait for replies by sitting and staring at the ceiling with that blank stupid smile on your face. It HAS to be a girl.” I had to admit, his observations and his deductions were entirely true, and I acknowledged it. In fact, I had asked her out for dinner, and she was being flirtatiously indecisive. “There! I knew I was right. Adam showed the exact same symptoms!” “Ha ha! What became of Adam, then?” I asked, curious to hear of other people in love, and of how blissful their lives had become. “Adam? Interesting story! Well, Adam was madly infatuated w...

I had been travelling for a couple of weeks, and when I opened the old familiar door to enter our rooms, I found him bent over something on the kitchen counter. Having made sure that I had created enough noise to signal my arrival, I was about to shout out a greeting when his irritated hand suddenly waved me over to the couch. I sat there sulking over the lack of gusto in greeting, especially since I had been away for about a month. There was nothing of the enthusiasm that I had expected or the exclamations that I had looked forward to, about the matted hair, the Hindu tattoo, the earrings and then, endless questions about the incidents in the Holy hills of the Indian peninsula. Finally, he looked up from the subject of his examination, and stretched like an animal that had been crouching for hours. “You’ve got a tan. Never mind that. You could certainly listen to my story? Sit down and listen up” “Very well, give me my drink, and let’s hear your story”, I said, a bit sullen. ...

"When the going gets tough, Whenever you feel lost", She said, "Don't Worry! Everything's not lost!" It was a glorious day! After three days of rain, Nature, to use a cliche, seemed to be smiling. He was showing me something on his phone, when, in the midst of laughter, it slipped from his fingers and fell, and broke into about five pieces; classic Nokia mechanism. Unfazed, and laughter undiminshed, he picked up the pieces, put them together, and switched it on again. As the phone booted, the welcome screen flashed, 'Everything's not lost'. I looked into his eyes. The monster, as he once called it, was dead.