June 02, 2014

55 Fiction---'The final goodbye'

The door flung open to his startled face.
He had not expected her to be up this early.

But today, she had decided to put an end to the whole thing.
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"Kal se doodh nahi chahiye!" she exclaimed coldly at the crestfallen milkman, who knew his diluted milk was no match to her untarnished anger.

May 30, 2014

Parody: 'Date a boy who boozes...'

 A long time ago, I came across this interesting piece written by Rosemarie Urquico, titled 'Date a girl who reads'.  The keen observation about the 'reader' girl got people all over the world smiling and sharing the writeup all over their Facebook walls and MySpace pages. Personally, I was so impressed with the article that I decided to get inspired and invent a small little parody---my evil contribution to the world. Its called "Date a guy who boozes." and should be taken with a bucket load of salt.

Date a guy who drinks...not just socially, but someone who, for lack of a more eloquent word, boozes.
Date a guy who spends his money on alcohol instead of gizmos. He has problems with bar space because he has too many bottles to store-wine, whiskey, rum, cognac, gin-you name it, he has it all stacked neatly in his bar.. Date a guy who has a list of spirits he wants to guzzle, who has had a mean cocktail since he was twelve.

Find a guy who drinks. You’ll know that he does because he will always have that look in his eyes when he spots a lounge or pub. He’s the one lovingly looking over the wine shelves at the shopping mart, the one who quietly cries out when he spots his favorite Bacardi pack of six.

You see the weird dude sniffing the corks of vintage champagne bottles, in a winery? That’s our potential boozer. They can never resist smelling the corks, especially when they are vintage. Find out more about him.
 He's the guy dozing (from last night's hangover) while you try out dress after dress in the changing room. If you take a peek from inside, you would find him patiently sitting on the couch outside with his head in his hands, afraid to stand up from fear that he may throw up from the effort. Lost in the frenzy of an inebriated world. Sit down. He might give you a glare, as most guys who drink do not like to be questioned or reprimanded. Ask him about last night's party instead. Feign enthusiasm. Offer to buy him a espresso.
Let him know what you really think of irresponsible drinking. Check if he is the kind to drink and drive (If he is, dump him ASAP.) Understand that if he says if he loves you more than Jack Daniels, he’s just saying that to sound romantic.  Ask him if to choose between Hoegaarden and Draft, and sit back and watch the confusion..
It’s easy to date a guy who drinks. Refilling his champagne flute with his favorite bubbly would make up for birthday meal you burnt. Accompany him for his biannual LFT's (Liver Function Tests). Hold his hand during an Ascitic tap. Let him know that you understand that booze is love.
Understand that he knows the difference between intoxication and reality but by god, he’s going to try to make his internal system a little like his favorite brewery. It will never be your fault if he does.
He has to give it a shot somehow.
Lie to him. Nine times out of ten, you can tell him he imagined it all, and he'd be too stoned to contradict you. Behind booze  are other things: Dope, Charas, Smack, Gaanja. What's a little life anyway? It will definitely not be the end of the world.
Fail him. Because a guy who drinks knows that failure, like hepatic failure which his doctor has warned him about, often leads to the climax, the fall of the curtain, the end of the show. Because guys who understand all this, and still continue to drink nevertheless, should not expect people to improve or learn from mistakes. Moreover, they would hardly notice the break in the continuity of their relationships. Because they take pride in a jilted love affair, after all wasn't it  a broken heart and a drinking problem that turned 'Devdas' into a hero, they think. Because life is meant to have a 'Paro' or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Guys who booze understand that people, like characters, are slandered. Except in the Disney Series.
If you find a guy who boozes, keep him at arms length. When you find him up at 2 AM clutching a bottle in his hand and weeping like a baby, know he has a serious problem and call Rehab.  Institutionalizing him may make you lose him for a couple of months, but he will always come back to you, a reformed man. He would talk as if the lectures in the Alcohol Anonymous sessions he has been attending really help, because for a while, they do.
You will propose to a man who has now started drinking in moderation, or so you would like to think. The experiment is a success.
You will smile at your lucky stars---at least he did not end up like the neighborhood Jake, who was found lying in the gutters, bottle in hand---until you will notice that he is grinning right back at you, for no apparent reason. That is when you will notice his stoned expression, the drool at the corners oh his mouth, the alcohol breath, the dark circles around his eyes, the tremors. But its too late. You are already married to the addict. Then you will join him too, first out of frustration, then for company, then for inspiration. Inspiration will soon change to intoxicating passion, and the next thing you know you will have kids with strange tastes and even stranger addictions. He will introduce your children to Ben and Jerry's and Liqour candy the same day. The rum cake will always have a little extra rum poured in. Nobody will know whether it was you or the kids that consumed the last sip of brandy. But those things wont matter much. Even if they end up as drunks, someone will date them someday. Someone will marry the bummers. You married one, yourself, didn't you? Years from then, you and him will walk the winters of your old age together if you two manage to survive that long.

Date a boy who boozes, because its funnnnn! Who wants a nice little happy life with no squabbles and fights, with lovely well mannered children and a secure future? Nawww! BORING!!
A life with hangovers and nausea, and late nights and insomnia, and espressos that kick in and jobs that kick out, and bruises and needles, and blood tests and hospital beds, and insurance fights and drunken brawls, and brutish kids and unpredictable endings....Boy!!! Now that's Adventure, eh? A man who does not booze will never be able to provide you with the kind of insane instability that a boy who boozes can.
 So, if you want the world and the worlds beyond it, a little sooner than expected and not necessarily in a good way, date a boozer.

Or better yet, you start boozing too!


(Issued in public interest) 

May 10, 2014

Dear Fidato

I will never understand how a distant faded memory sneaks its way into your mind on a perfectly busy day and just refuses to let go.
I will never understand how no matter what the current dynamics of the relationship, glimpses of what 'once had been' visit you especially when you least expect it...sometimes in days, sometimes in months and sometimes in years.

Some emails stayed undeleted...
Some letters remained unburnt...
Some conversations got permanently archived...
Some precious imprints got etched in the memory...
and you and me, I guess in some far away recess of my tired mind, we are always there---loving each other, hating each other, at logger heads with each other...or perhaps in perfect harmony with one another.
 I do not know if memories are excuses to break away from the rest of the world. If they are, then perhaps you are helping me.
Some relations will forever remain inscrutable. Some people, forever indispensable.

Maybe, just maybe, in some parallel universe, you and me are still together. laughing at the confusion between us in the here and now.

April 01, 2014

ANTAKSHARI-3...Its back!!!


Hello Readers,
I am aware that we have been a little out of action here, you and me.
Perhaps it is the lull that comes after years of togetherness that occurs even in the best of relationships, or perhaps the monotony of our hectic schedules leave us with little time to stop and smell the flowers. Whatever might be the reason, the truth is that this sudden bout of deadpan lethargy is quite obvious by the awkward cessation of cheerful chatter wafting in the air, and the sweet fragrance of soulful conversation that once emanated from our 'Nostalgic Moments'.
So just to spruce up our relationship once more with the good old charm and enthusiasm of yester years, here's presenting before you, (*drum rolls in the backdrop*) online ANTAAAAKSHARI 3!!!!!!

For those who are not aware,  Online Antakshari is a series of fun interaction posts we used to have way back on here. The first time around, it was a huge hit (check Antakshari-1 ) with members all over Blogsville and outside participating. Months later,  we saw Antakshari 2 happening, and had a jolly well time then as well. Hence, the need of Antakshari-3 now, to bring back memories of a time not long ago, and help us kick start our listless minds with a hum on our lips and a spring in our step.,

As for the rules of the game, for those who arnt aware---
  • It is a simple game where in you start with a song and the next person takes it from the last letter of the last word of that song and types in  (because unfortunately the virtual world has its limitations) another song.
  • Let us try not to repeat any of the songs because repetition kinda spoils the fun..and make sure we don't murder any lyrics around here. We wouldn't want those lyricists turning in their graves ;)
  • Oh, and one more thing, typing more than just two lines of the song is mandatory. If by chance two or more people comment in at the same time with different songs for the same letter, then the one whose comment appeared first will be considered.
  • Anyone and everyone (bloggers and non bloggers) is invited and welcome to participate any number of times.
 FOR THE OPENING SONG, CHECK OUT THE COMMENT SPACE....

CHEERS TO A MAGICAL MUSICAL TIME AHEAD!!! :)

March 26, 2014

Life in teacups...

Two cups of chai in front of you.
One, you drink. The other stays untouched.

"It still belongs to you." I hear you murmur as you push the tea cup towards me.



The waiter tells me it has always been this way. Two cups of chai you'd pay for, every time you stopped at what once used to be a regular haunt. Two cups of chai you'd now sit alone and nurse. Two cups of chai...since the day we left in opposite directions.

I laugh at the irony. But I still don't have the heart to explain.
I have always been a coffee person! :)

March 08, 2014

Lets face the truth...

 

While you are watching this video...
Some helpless woman in India is getting raped for no fault of hers (except ofcourse that she is a 'woman')...
Some unsuspecting school girl is getting bottom pinched and touched (in the wrong places) in a crowded bus on her way home from school...
A bunch of street loafers are passing lewd remarks at the dutiful housewife, making a cheap spectacle out of her as she buys vegetables in the market...
An independent professional in a multinational company is filing a case against her colleague or senior for sexual harassment...
The same senior or colleague is sneering behind her back with his friends, knowing that she would never be able to prove it...
A doting wife has just discovered her husband's clandestine affair and is wondering where she went wrong...
An office secretary has agreed to compromise with her boss because she cannot afford to lose the job during a crucial family emergency...
A young tired daughter-in-law of a renowned political household dreads her unborn child's fate as she is literally dragged into the radiologist's clinic by her husband to determine the sex of the baby...
A seventeen year old is scarred for life because some boy just called her 'ugly'...
A new bride shudders with fear as she ices her trembling skin singed by the cigarette butt her perverse husband has used on her last night...
An innocent eleven year old girl has been touched by her favorite uncle and feels angry at herself...
A kitchen 'accident' is been planned for the docile daughter in law who has been exhausted from fulfilling never ending dowry demands...
A young college girl is oblivious that she is being followed by a masked scooterist with an acid vial in hand...
A house help is being brutally beaten and called a thief because something in the house is misplaced and cannot be found...
A woman is called 'loose' because she has more male friends than females...
A rape victim is being judged as having 'asked for it' only because she had been wearing a short skirt and a tank top at the time of the heinous crime...
A twelve year old village girl has been bought for Rs 25,000 from her family, while the poor child is unaware of the trafficking scandal that lies ahead of her...
Nothing is making sense for the pregnant woman just diagnosed as HIV+ve, to whom the world will cease to exist only after the confession from her coward husband who will refuse to meet her eyes...

And all this was happening to some woman somewhere...while you were busy humming the song in  that video.

Happy Woman's Day? Really?? 


Promise me a society where every woman is appreciated as an equal, where her mind is valued and her body is respected and her vulnerability is not considered a weakness, where her physical strength is not exploited to prove her inferior.
Promise me that kind of a society first...and then maybe, you can wish me 'Happy Woman's day'

March 05, 2014

Still?

Last night, after almost an eternity, I dreamt of you again.

It was absurd, the way my dream has changed over the ages. Last night, you were just standing there, in a quiet little corner, smiling to yourself. I seemed busy in a blur of activity---the random humdrum of an otherwise monotonous day. It didn't seem like I did not notice you standing there watching me. But somehow, even in that dream, I was not giving that fact much importance. You didn't say anything. I was speaking to everyone else but you. A loose strand of hair carelessly tucked behind my ear, I was scribbling something furiously on the notepad in hand. I seemed like someone enjoying a lot of responsibility. It seemed you were enjoying it too, watching me like that. But we did not speak, not to each other.

I cannot recall the details but the waking point was the one that surprised me most. There was a merger---a dream plus reality mix...a surreal time travel of sorts, from a reminiscent past to a hypothetical future.

We were suddenly holding hands...in another frame...another scene rolling out miles away as if in another time and space.

"Its a small world," you were saying..."We will meet again..."

"Don't be so sure...We might go the rest of our lives pretending the other does not exist."

Then the scene changed, there you were again, standing in one corner of the busy room, smiling softly at me...me who was trying hard to ignore your presence now.
You were still smiling...and as our eyes met, I let out an exasperated sigh.

"So, we meet again," I said and smiled.

"When did we ever part? We were only pretending we did," was your tongue in cheek reply.

..and then I woke up, trying to decipher which half of the merger was more real, the past that  happened (and got left behind), or the future that never will...

Last night, after almost an eternity, I dreamt of you again.

March 03, 2014

Book Review: 'The Other Side' By Faraaz Kazi and Vivek Banerjee

Title: The Other Side
Authors: Faraaz Kazi and Vivek Banerjee

Pages: 320

Publisher: Mahaveer Publishers

Price: Rs 150/-

Genre: Fiction


I was one of the first few people to have ordered this book on FlipKart. Having known Faraaz Kazi for his prolific writing and equally warm persona, I had been waiting for his second book to hit the stalls. So when I was told that 'The Other Side' would be the end result of the brainstorming sessions of two literary geniuses (the other being Vivek Banerjee of 'The Long Road' fame), I knew for sure that I had to read it.

Why the late review, then? Well, as you folks must have noticed, I have been pretty much out of the loop since some time. There have been personal reasons and then there have been personal reasons. Lets just say life kept me busy. But believe me, I am not dead. Speaking of which, its quite an eerie come-back announcement to make when I am all geared to write on 'The Other Side'. (pun intended)

So without further ado, let me begin by saying that this book was, in one word, unputdownable, right from the word 'Go'.
'The Other Side' is a collection of thirteen spine chilling stories of the paranormal world, that do not fail to leave you with a lump in your throat. The book begins with a foreword that explains the philosophy of fear---the one extreme emotion that lives in all of us, and yet we try so hard to ignore. Next, follows the prelude which is a well corroborated conversation between the two authors, Faraaz and Vivek, speaking about their bizarre experiences, and this aids in creating the whole 'chill in the air' feeling before we proceed on to reading the subsequent pages.

There is an element of wide eyed surprise in each of these narratives, be it 'Starangers in the night' or 'The lady in the pub'.. Frankly, its impossible to pick a favorite, but 'Red Bangles' and 'Dream Girl' makes your hair stand on end.
However, what I particularly liked about the book is that there was a sense of right doing and wrong doing in each of the stories. While the unadulterated horror gave me goosebumps, the subtlety which hinted that perhaps there is justice after all..at least on the other side, brought a smile to my lips---an act of kindness gets repaid, a perverse murderer gets his due, a mother's love is answered and so on.
Each narrative is written with lurid details. The sombre undertone evokes a panic within the reader and the writing clearly reveals the literary talent possessed by the authors, as each story rolls out scene by scene in your imagination.

This combo pack of thirteen gut wrenching stories will definitely make you explore your innermost fears and wonder about superstitions and the world beyond our own. From the honeymoon in the hills that goes terribly wrong to the obsessed lover who craves his love, in life or death to the psycho who mutilates body parts to build up his 'dream girl', this book is filled with grossly petrifying, terribly unnerving and overwhelmingly alarming tales that will make you miss a heart beat as you gulp with fear. What takes the cake, however, is the epilogue that is in continuation with the prologue involving the two authors and their adventure---the final nail to the coffin. (oops! pun intended or maybe not...)

To conclude, I would say, reading the other side was a nail biting experience and that just goes to say that it definitely lived up to its genre, and needless to mention, the authors' names. Would surely recommend it.

Oh yes, I dared to visit alone and felt the chill in the air. Did you? :)

Personal Rating:  4 out of 5