Please read these stories- They are GREAT.

I thought I wont write a post in next 6 months, but existential pressures(LOL) have forced me to do so. I had started a story competition and few more entries have poured in.

Aparna: Please read her story. A different take, altogether.

Jyothi: A different take again. A serial script writer in the making. Ekta kapoor watch-out.:D

Neha: Can you believe when she tells you that she hasn’t written much fiction?Read her new story. Awesome.

Thanks to Neha and P for the humane award.It feels GREAT to be a human ( Reminded of ,that is)


I have nothing to write ,but since I have started, I thought I would ramble on.I used to feel GREAT about blogging and my writing, but lately the excitement seems to have left me. The very words that I was so reliant on, has given me the feeling of glumness. Now, this is an attempt to seize my spiraling world of perceptions, to be able to state on the experience, if not control it.
I have been unctuous, for as long as i can remember, for a mirror that reflects the various dimensions that I exist within. When i tried to turn my gaze upon myself, it was words that helped me do so. Without their aid I feel lost! Not to mention completely vulnerable to the feeble perceptions that world around holds up to me.
I have this thing of starting and losing complete significance midway. Those who know me will be able to relate this trait of mine to the state of my room. it is usually in a catastrophic condition, resembling an area affected by a violent tornado (there is method in the madness, I always vehemently proclaim!) until it reaches a point where I can't take it anymore and then it magically transforms into an exquisitely and accurately pruned and groomed garden. However, the precision soon begins to suffocate me and the order eventually disintegrates.I feel it’s the same with Blogging. At least for me.I have started to feel the tediousness in whatever I write, seeking an alteration from the habitual.
As I try to clamber my way out of the pits that i have found myself over the last few months, my epiphanic realization has been that the greatest folly of human intelligence is the hope to perpetuate an experience.

So, here I am, struggling to find relevance so as to be able to reinstate my rusted motor of imagination. If in the process I begin to grow tedious, I beg my readers to be patient since; as the corny old proverb goes, “nothing is permanent except change”, So will be me.

Short story competition-Edited and Improved

As I had mentioned in my Zombie chicken AWARD post, the Short story competition starts now.

To quote from the above post of mine.. ... “All awards (recognitions) come with greater responsibilities....So does this...a Short story competition is coming up for the winners. I would give the topic and probably the plot too. All you have to do is to write a story.....So watch-out...”

The first nominees are Ms. Gayathri , the youngest in the group and Ms. Neha. The rules of the competition are:

a) Strictly to go by the mentioned plot.

b) Narrative style and the narrative could be adopted to suit the Short story. For eg. Story need not follow the given linear mould. Beginning could be the end or end could be the beginning of the story.

c) Names could be changed from the regular ZB names. Arun need not be Arun.

d) You have a week’s time. To write. The story shouldn’t be in more than 2500 words.

once you write it, you will have to inform me, and i will create a post, linking the story to your blog.

Okey, Then....

The Plot:

The story starts with Priya, a girl of 22, attending her mother’s funeral. She is completely devastated .Her only relation in the world is dead. She has a father, who is apparently alive, but has left them a long time ago. Whole her life, she was brought-up by her mother. She is in state of shock and mute. She is cut-out of the world, and sees signs of her mother communicating to her. She can see a flock of pigeons fly towards the sky. She believes that it’s her mother. She shifts to a reverie.

Rest of the story is a monologue.

3 years back, Arun had walked into her office. At that time, She was working for a Cell phone service company ( Airtel) . She attends him with his complaint. He starts visiting her office regularly in the pretence of cell phone queries. She avoids him, but he pursues her. Then one day, he asks her out. She refuse.

He feels hurt. He stops following her. Few weeks pass. She begins to miss him. Finally, she misses him so much that she goes to his office to meet him. She asks him why he wasn’t coming to her office, to meet her. He proposes her; He tells her that he genuinely loved her and wishes to marry her one day. She avoids him, confusing him. He wonders why she was avoiding him, and then comes to meet him when he tries to end the relationship. She agrees to go out with him for Lunch.

During lunch she opens up. They get closer. She tells him her stories. He tells his. But she tells him that she doesnt want to have a relationship. She tells him that she is not ready yet. He continues persevering, and believes that she loves him too, but her circumstance has made her not trust a man. They continue to meet; they go out for lunch. They continue being just friends.

After around 6 months, Arun loses hope and breaks down before Priya. She reluctantly accepts the fact that she loved him too, on a verge that she might lose him forever. She tells him that she doesn’t know yet, if she was in love with him.

Then one day, her mother falls sick and out of other options, she calls Arun, late in the night to come to her house. They take her to hospital and she is cured. This brings Priya closer to Arun.

Then after few months, she is transferred to Bangalore. He too joins her, resigning his job and persuading his father for higher studies( Journalism). They come real close, their distance vanishing completely to a level that she, in a moment of desire, gives herself to him. They make love. She realises that she has positioned herself in a state of no return. She tells him that she loves him completely, and never again she can love another man.He convince her, asking her to stop crying and believe him, trust him. He would be with her in life, and even after (Literally in the story).

Then tragedy strikes. Arun falls sick and is admitted to Hospital with Hepatitis. Priya takes care of him. His parents are called. Her mother too arrives. Gradually he gets very serious and shifts to coma. After few days in ICU, he dies.

The world has trampled for Priya. She slowly starts to lose herself. After the funeral, when she was all alone in her hostel, she slits her vein. She loses her consciousness after much blood lose.

She is found in a critical stage, and is rushed to a hospital. She begins to recover slowly. She is later declared mentally ill. She develops manic depression and schizophrenia.

After a year of Treatment, she recovers. She is adopted by Arun’s parents and they send her for higher studies. She goes on to complete her Masters in Journalism from University of Colombia ( ala Barka Dutt) and become a renowned Journalist with a national TV Channel.

The twist in the story is:

Unknown to the world, When after slitting her vein, she is lying in a state of coma, undiscovered by the world; she shifts to the edge of life, the point after which Death takes over. She sees Arun standing besides her, crying, telling her, why she did this, why did she try to kill herself. He tells her that he would always be around her, watching her and living his life through her. He tells her that she should be a successful woman and do all that he failed to do in his life. She promises him that she would live, She would live life for him.

She smiles at the world for calling her Mad, when in reality Arun was indeed present beside her, when she was close to death. She was sure of that, yes, he was present. He had talked to her.

Call it hallucinations of schizophrenic, imaginations of a confounded mind, or nothing but blatant truth which mere mortals failed to observe....the world would never know...

(Who knows, we would only know after death if soul indeed existed)

The narration comes back to the day of funeral of her mother ( as in the beginning) . She smiles, happy that her mother would join Arun soon. How lucky mother was. She would have to wait longer to unite with him.She was on a wait. A long wait; Life was a long wait, a wait for death.

The End......

To give an Idea of Priya’s character, I am adding few monologues by her.

Priya Speak

The alarm rings on my Mobile phone. I had set it for 6.30, but I was awake. I couldn’t sleep properly the whole night. Father has not come home and mother is worried. I am sure she wouldn’t have slept too. Why does he have to hurt her so much? The only blunder she has done in her life is to have married him.

My mother, oh mother, why are you so kind to him when he doesn’t give you a damn? Why? Why do you still care for him, hoping that one day he would change his ways and take you in his arms, like those good old days. Has he cared to even call and tell you he is not going to make it for the night? I hate him; I hate him for spoiling your life, mother.

Why didn’t you divorce him mother, and care about your life inconsiderately. You knew about him from the second day of your marriage, didn’t you? You have told me these tales of deception hundreds of times, haven’t you: Making me abhor father so much more.

You had a career, you loved your job, and you needn’t have looked into anything so morbid in your life. You would have got a man for you far better than the man you make me call father, o mother.

What’s the point? You and your love; I am sick of it. Why did you make me suffer? Sorry mother, but wont I suffer seeing you suffer?

I wiped my tears. What a way to start a day, oh god, why are you so unfair to me, why?

I sat up to look at my mother sleeping beside me. I know you are pretending to be asleep, you won’t have slept the whole night. Whom are you trying to deceive mother, someone who has seen you all her life? You would have kicked him out of your life mother and I would have felt happier for you. Why do we need someone, who is only an ache in our life, mother.

I got up and headed for the toilet. Its going to be a frantic day, like any other day. I hate my job, stupid customers, my stupid boss, this stupid world.

Arun is the only good thing to have happened in my life. My long, lonesome, abandoned 22 years of life. I feel spiteful at the sight of father. His stench of alcohol and tobacco, what did my mother see in him?

I would have said yes to Arun. What if he leaves me? No, all men are good at conversing and convincing. Women shouldn’t believe half the thing men say. Probably my father would have said the same to my mother. He has spoiled her life, and mine too.

I feel envious of my friends when they speak about their fathers. I wish I too had someone to speak about. I wish I too had someone to call me and check with me when I got late to come home. My heart ached when my friends brought their fathers for their School annual day.Life sucks, big time !!!!duh !!!

@ Gay3: You don’t have to add the above part; it’s just to give you an idea of her character. I couldn’t make it further bollywoodish....Emotional atyachaar....Wish you good luck. :D

As suggested by Aparna, i am adding a word....and example as to how the story can be. The story can be even from the point-of-view of Arun. It need not be a poignant tale. It can even be humorous...

She had the most splendid eyebrows in the world, the luxuriousness that is trained into perfect black arches .She was part of the exotic breed, so it seemed when I looked at her. Her beauty was exceptional, convincing me of such a strong, persistent and universal appeal which would relate to anyone’s sense of aesthetics. She would have coerced the strongest of human minds by revealing possible cognitions, motivations and emotions to churn out poetry and masterpieces of literature, one after another...

Priya walked into my sleepy life as a …hummm…..strong cup of Nescafe in the morning(on bed)…the first drizzle after a horrid summer……long powerless ( electricity) hot & humid night when its impossible to sleep and then suddenly power comes and the fan is on, spreading cool refreshing air-stream….eating tasteless dal and dry burnt chappatis for a month and suddenly you smell hydrabadi chicken biriyani …….I cant think of more examples for now………...life was such a change after her arrival…J

Our telephonic conversations were a training experience for me into ‘How to scientifically woo a young beautiful girl through tele conversation’ and I came out victorious, she found me interesting and witty (her words, and not mine..:) )and you know what she said about me during one of our long chats????

“You have made good use of the brain, god has given you” and for my “How”, she said “you are well informed and well read…you would go places..”

I know, that’s more than any guy with a bit of ego could take in a day and I flew like eagles and vultures in the sky……refusing to come down at any time…

P.S: anyone who wants to take up the challenge are welcome.In fact everyone in my friends list is hereby ordered to take part............Watch-out. :D

The Zombie Chicken Award

Thanks Kaddu. An award was exactly the thing that I needed the most. Considering from whom this award came, it means a world to me. Kaddu, you are one of the best and most admired bloggers .

Of late, a strange blue has surrounded me. I have no clue what it is. It happens to me sometimes. Without any visible or obvious reasons, I feel depressed. My mind tells me that I have no reason to feel depressed. I have an adoring family; A job that pays me rather well; an address of my own (my own house) and a beautiful wife and daughter; yet the world looks gloomy. But I guess it happens to all.

A lot of people inspire me. I was watching the interview of Vishal Bhardwaj the other day, and I was awestruck by his simplicity and nonchalance to all the success life has bestowed him. Look at him, the whole world is talking about Kaminey. For me, watching the movie was an awe-inspiring experience. All may not agree, but the movie was one of the finest in bollywood, at least in a long time. And then I watched this interview, and I was like, “WHAT? Is this the same guy who made this movie?”. He is my hero, and the cause behind the logic that true talent needs no self-promotion. You have it and it shows, and it will only show if you have it.

The Zombie Chicken Award

The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken – excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse.

These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words.

As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all.

I am passing the award to 5 among the most talented of bloggers in my list. They sure inspire me, to say the least. They are in no particular order.

Aparna: You have rockstar-like abilities to attract. Every post of yours is a super entertainer. Wit comes to you naturally.

Sujata: What I have observed about you, you have an Arundhati Roy like sensibility to small things. You should try your hands at writing a book. You pass on the emotions to the reader in the most effective ways, with simplest of words. Way to go.

Sucharita: Vivid and candid: words that come to my mind. Reading your blog is traveling with you, to another era, as if it happened yesterday or the day before. You sure should write a book. You are a great narrator.

Santanu Da: I have this awe about him, he never stops inspiring me. In fact, I look at him as a reference point.

Gayathri: The youngest, yet a talent house. She is gifted and someone I look forward to reading all the time.


Thanks Kaddu, I just couldn’t wait to respond to this award. Any more awards? Let me know, I am a sucker for AWARDS.

P.S: All awards(recognitions) come with greater responsibilities....So does this...a Short story competition is coming up for the winners. I would give the topic and probably the plot too. All you have to do is to write a story.....So watch-out...