Discover the Writer in You

  It was a beautiful necklace. More beautiful, since it was a gift from her husband.  But, Nalini had not put it on even once.  She desired certain changes.  Though everyone who saw the necklace, found it to be exquisite, she was not satisfied.  The necklace consisted of shiny black pearls, the central piece was oval in shape and bigger than the rest. The smaller pearls were octagonal and linked to each other with golden rods. Initially, she got the golden links changed with silver ones. But even that did not look good enough.  Next, she got the central black pearl replaced with a white one but that also did not fit aptly. Finally, she got it back to its original design.  But she pondered continuously on how to get it into an ideal shape. The necklace was presented to her ten years back.  Nalini Mahadevan was a housewife.  And Rupesh was a successful businessman. He had seen her at a family marriage function and it was love at first sight. Bu...

  H e was going to meet her after six years. ‘How does she look now?’ He peeped out of the glass window. Green fields, trees, people – everything slipped by except a flock of white cranes which kept pace with the speeding bus. A fair, pretty girl with a dimple on her chin, smiled back at him from among the distant clouds and disappeared.   His mind traveled back to an old, small town, a secluded rooftop, a young girl feeding a boy with her tiny hands. His mother had died while giving birth to him. His father, a school teacher, could not cope up with this loss and moved into a shell. Richa was the only hope in his otherwise lonely life. A neighbor’s daughter, she clicked well with him. Maybe, she understood him better than he did. They studied in the same school, later moved to the same college. But soon, they parted ways. That was when he realized how much he loved her. But he lacked the courage to tell her. Though, one day, he had come very close.   Th...

  She strolled leisurely in the garden with his daughter, laughing merrily. Her tanned skin glowed in the afternoon sun.  He watched her quietly from the corner window of his bedroom.  As he saw them entering the house, he hurried downstairs and sank into the plush drawing room sofa, burying his nose into the newspaper. Shalu came flying up to him, shouting ‘Hello Papa’ all the way and hugged him lovingly.   ‘So, how was your tuition?’ he asked tenderly. ‘It was good but physics is a hard nut to crack.’ ‘And what about you?’ he probed as he turned towards her. Amazed that such a silly question could be put to her, she raised her eyebrows and remarked casually, ‘With a little help from Shalu, I think I can sail through.’ She had been visiting them for the past few weeks now and always addressed him directly without uncle-ing or sir-ing him. Shalu butted in. ‘We can go through the next chapter if you like.’ ‘Sure.’ Somebody rang the doorbell. ...

A Romantic Comedy It was a blind date. She had interacted with him over the FB and they decided to meet. As she entered the beach side restaurant on a warm winter afternoon, she stopped for a while to listen to the roar of splashing ocean waves crushing against the rocky shore. She looked stunning in a white skirt and a full sleeve, grey top. Her shiny black curls danced merrily on her shoulders as she strode confidently with her light blue, high heels. She could place him instantly. He was more handsome than his online photographs - fair, tall and masculine. But what she was struck by was his miserable condition. He sat there, at a corner table, holding his head between his hands, unshaven, uncombed, in a pair of crumpled jeans and T-shirt, looking sad, disturbed and disappointed. This certainly did not appeal to her as the correct 'date' stuff but still she strolled towards his table resolutely. 'Hi-I am Shalini,' she extended her hand. 'Aditya,...