If only...

Sakshi was packing her bags for her week long business trip to Germany. Being on the advisory board of a multi-national firm her work involved a lot of travel all over the world. Normally, Ajay was very supportive of Sakshi’s work and the amount of commitment she needed to give it. Somehow, this time, for reasons he could not place a finger on, Ajay was not too keen on her going on this particular trip. 

“Do you have to go? What’s Varun doing? He can go instead.” Ajay argued. Varun was at the same level as Sakshi in the firm and they often collaborated on many projects.

“Oh, come on. He’s busy with the upcoming management event this week. Besides, his wife is expecting and is due to deliver anytime now. She needs him more.” Sakshi reasoned logically. As always she was right. 

They were as different as chalk and cheese. She was the cool-headed logical person and Ajay was the temperamental emotional fool. Yes. Quite contrary to the typical man-wife combination. Even their colour preferences defied the typical sampling but matched their personalities. She loved blue and he preferred red.

 An architect and designer by profession, Ajay too held a high-profile job that left them very little couple time. Their work-assignments always clashed. Yet, they made sure they were there for each other at all times. A quick call during the day, a SMS, or even over Whatsapp, they’d remain connected. 

Ajay loved Sakshi for the strong-headed, independent woman that she was.  Ace at her work, she was well-respected among her colleagues and seniors and had risen to a high position in the company within a short time-frame. He was proud of her and her achievements.

Yet, this time Ajay sulked. Being an emotional person, it was sometimes difficult for Ajay to argue his case with his highly rational wife who’d be amused at how much importance he gave to his gut feelings.

“It’s our anniversary next weekend. What if your trip gets extended? You know that’s a common occurrence with your kind of meetings.” he tried to play the emotional card.

“I’ll be back just in time for that, Honey. You know how much that day means to me too. Plan something.” said Sakshi with a twinkle in her eyes and left with a quick goodbye. 

Ajay ignored the uneasy feeling, putting it down to his own work pressure. He plunged into working on his pending assignments. This worked both ways-a happy client and a mind free from unwanted thoughts.

Despite her logical persona, Sakshi believed in lucky charms. A pair of blue earrings was, she believed, was her lucky mascot and she’d never leave for any business trip without those. However, just a couple of days before she left, she misplaced one of the earrings. 

“Was it a sign? She wondered aloud her pretty face knitted in worry. Of course, she couldn’t have been bothered for too long by things like these and within no time her practical side took over.

A couple of days after she left, her missing pair of earrings emerged magically from underneath a pile of papers when Ajay was looking for his missing file. His face broke into a smile and he felt the signs were good after all.

A week flew by. Ajay wanted to surprise Sakshi the day she arrived. A bunch of sweet-smelling roses were placed in the vase. He’d ordered for her favourite butterscotch cake with a tinge of blue icing-just the way she loved it. The upcoming weekend was to be spent at a lovely quiet beach resort - his anniversary gift to her. 

“We both need the break and time together” he mused thoughtfully.

Ajay checked his phone early that morning for his quota of news feed and any new messages. His twitter feed left him gasping for breath. Nothing in the world could have prepared him for the news that greeted him. The plane on which Sakshi was travelling had gone missing. The aircraft had lost contact with the radar a few hours ago and the fate of the passengers and crew was now hanging in mystery.

“If only I’d trusted my instincts this time. If only I’d managed to convince you to stay back. If only…..” cried out Ajay in deep anguish.

 

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The unfortunate event of the Malaysian airline has had me disturbed and the post is a result of it. Wish and pray for the lives of the innocent passengers aboard.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda. It's a picture prompt this time.

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Two sentence horror stories

Inspired by this, I decided to exercise my creative juices towards some horror stories. Hope you stay spooked enough :-)

The revelation

I laughed at my friend who claimed to be able to see and talk to ghosts. The laughter stopped at my throat when I glanced upon my garlanded photo on the wall.


An eerie connection

The mobile rang shrilly in the dead of the night at the musty, dark cottage. Preeti grabbed the phone fearing the worst, only to see a 'No network coverage' sign on her screen.


The encounter

As she sat on the couch, her back facing the lone window, waiting for her husband to come home, she felt a tap on her shoulder and looked behind to see her husband grinning to see his usual trick having the desired effect. Just then the doorbell rang and she opened the door to find her husband standing outside.

Noises

"A household with kids", mused Aarti on hearing myriad sounds of tiny feet running around, furniture moving and a swing creaking from the floor above. Being the new tenants of the two-floor apartment, she decided to befriend the upstairs neighbour, only to find the stairs end at the opening to an empty terrace.

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Book review: The Almond Tree by Michelle Cohen Corasanti

Author: Michelle Cohen Corasanti
Publisher: Fingerprint (Prakash Books)
Pages: 352
Price on Flipkart: Rs.205


A debut novel by the Jewish-American author, this book tells a story from the eyes of a Palestinian boy, Ahmed Hamid, the eldest of 7 siblings, who lives with his family on a land that is laden with strife and hatred. The back-drop is that of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. A story told to convey the message that we need to rise above hatred and contempt to be able to bring about a peaceful co-existence.

Here's the blurb:

Ahmed Hamid, a is a gifted and very intelligent 12-year-old boy. Everyone in the village admires him and is impressed by him. Living on occupied land, his family lives with the constant fear of losing their homes, jobs and belongings. On his twelfth birthday, this fear becomes a harsh reality. Ahmed’s father gets imprisoned and all their possessions and their home gets confiscated. What will Ahmed do to save his family? He embarks on an inspiring journey using his intellect to rescue his family.

Now, I don't have an in-depth knowledge of the Israel-Palestine history, hence wouldn't be in a position to validate or critically evaluate the portions of historical significance. My review is  purely of the fictional story that is woven around the premise.

The pluses:

The story-telling is very engaging. In some ways, it did remind me of "The Kite Runner". The first few chapters left me disturbed as Michelle delved into the details of the brutal manner in which Ahmed loses his little sister and the hopeless situation in which Ahmed and his family live. The story then rises to that of hope and positivity when Ahmed, who has a natural talent for math and science, is shown to rise above all the desperation, killings and abject poverty and achieve academic and material success. 

The minuses:

There are some flaws and inconsistencies in the narration and there are times when you feel that the side-characters could've been given more shades. The protagonist hogs most of the story-line, but his character has been etched well. While Ahmed chooses to follow his father's advice and path of seeking goodness even in adverse conditions, Abbas, his brother, seeks refuge in hatred. It would've been nice if the author could have elaborated a bit of Abbas's side of the story too. That way it would've been a more balanced portrayal.

For a debut novel, it is pretty good. I'd recommend it for the some insightful advice given by Baba, Ahmed's father. 

My rating: 4/5

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This review is posted as part of Book Review Program by The Literary Jewels.

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Will the witness speak?

This got selected by Blogadda as a WOW post!

This happened a couple of years ago during my tenure as a police officer in a small town near Guwahati, Assam. Sometimes what seems true is far from it and only a deep investigation will lead you to the core of the crime.

It involved a twenty year old girl, Arunima, who had gone missing suddenly. There was no suspicious trail of events. Involvement of a possible boy-friend was also ruled out as per the testimonies of her classmates. She belonged to a lower-middle class family and was apparently a studious girl whose life revolved around classes, college and home. She also did not seem to have many friends in college. 

The family was distraught. She was their only child. The father was a retired teacher who earned a measly income through tuitions and the mother pitched in by sewing embroidery work on hand-woven cotton fabric. They had put in all their hard earned savings to educate Arunima. She was about to start earning in a year's time after graduating from college and they had pinned a lot of hopes on her.

According to the mother, Arunima did appear a little worn out since a few days. Upon asking she had dismissed it as being preoccupied with her upcoming exams. The mother found no reason to worry further as Arunima had been a good students and a little anxiety was anyway natural before an exam. 

That fateful day was no different from any other normal day for Arunima. She had woken up early as usual and left for college. But, she never reached her college. Arunima always took a bus to college. The bus-stand was about 2 kms from her home and she travelled by foot to the bus-stand. The road to the bus-stand was not a busy stretch and also had a small lake that was equidistant from the stop and her home. 

Police dogs were set hot upon the trail. However, the dogs lost the scent near the lake. It had rained the previous night and it was quite slushy near the water body. We reached a dead end in our investigation. It did seem like Arunima could have slipped and fallen into the lake. The search team was set to fish out a possible dead body from the lake. It seemed like a open and shut case. Somehow, I felt that we were missing something. It did not seem plausible that Arunima could have slipped so much from the main path into the water. Unless she had chosen to be near the lake at that time and then had a accidental fall into the water. Why would she go near the lake at that time and hour?

I began my independent search near the lake-side in anticipation of some other clue. As I walked by some thick bushes just a little away, I heard a faint beep of a mobile phone. It seemed like the noise came from within the thicket. With the help of a few constables, I scoured the place and sure enough there emerged a phone. I looked for clues.The call registry showed two calls placed and one received from the same number in the last week. It was however the message history that nailed the case for me. The trail of messages read as below:

Sent: Meet me at 7 same place. 

Received: I'm not sure I want to.

Sent: Pls, you've to. Let me explain.

Received: K.
Date: 12th Jan 2011
Time recieved: 6.00 a.m.

Meanwhile, the search team found the dead body of Arunima. The autopsy confirmed the cause as death due to drowning

It was not difficult to then put everything together. The SMSes were exchanged with the same number that appeared more than once in the call registry. The time stamp of the last received message and the time of Arunima's disappearance were not too far apart. We confirmed Arunima's number from her family. It only remained to catch the culprit.


It was a case of one-sided love. The boy, Gaurav, had apparently expressed interest in Arunima a month ago but she was not interested. He'd wait for her near the lake everyday and tried to talk to her and convince her. Through his other friends he managed to get her number and called her a few times. Arunima had called up once to express her displeasure and threatened to tell her parents and the police. This explained the number trail in the call-registry. The trail of SMSes was exchanged on the fateful morning. 

Gaurav was nabbed and charged with murder. He admitted to having met Arunima at the place and time. However, pleaded guilty citing that the fall was indeed accidental and he panicked and ran away and lost the phone in the bush in a hurry. Whether she fell accidentally or was pushed we don't know yet.

The sole witness was the calm lake.

Judgement is still pending.


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Linking this to the write over the weekend theme at Blogadda.

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Seven

Step by step by your side
a wholesome journey, a joyous ride

Quite apart in our ways,
We've traipsed yet so far
with more ayes than nays

Together we walk the beaten path,
crossing each milestone and some more
doubling happiness as we go
did we calculate the math?

Not without a thorn
thrown callously now and then
to test our grit, perhaps 
or to let us thank the stars
that despite all, we have 'us'

Seven is the year,
Ah! the proverbial itch, do I hear?
I'd rather choose to remember
the seven sacred steps around the fire,
and, hum the song of our life,
Say, aren't the notes too seven in there? 



*An attempt, yet again, to commemorate our anniversary-yes, it's the 7th this year.*

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Book review: Nazaqat by Sasha Singhal

 Naazani, a shy girl with a lonely childhood, was born and brought up in Dehradun. She moves to a metropolitan for further education and gets absorbed. In a series of events, she decides to adopt prostitution and becomes one of the most successful high profile escorts of the city with the help of her manager Sharat. In a quest to be successful, she leaves her friends behind and dedicates more time to her profession. Nazaqat witnesses a police raid at a nearby place and the real scenario of prostitution terrifies her. She decides to take a stand and do something about it. However, Sharat convinces her that she is not powerful enough to make a difference. Nazaqat retires and pool all her money and starts a restaurant Joy foods in partnership with Sharat. The business grows and soon enough they have numerous outlets in various cities and Naazani Singh Shekhawat emerges as a significant entrepreneur of nation. To cherish the old memories, she organizes a group together and calls all her old friends. Next morning, it is found that something drastic happened the night before. Meanwhile, she invites an author Matthews, who is an old acquaintance to pen down her own biography. He visits her each night and in a series of ten nights, her story finds its crescendo. Will prostitution be legalized? Whats her intention with the biography she is planning? What shall be the fate of Naazani Singh Shekhawat aka Nazaqat? Nazaqat is a very detailed and carefully woven story which is a unique blend of thrill and drama. It is a refreshing story about a girl who adopts prostitution on her own will and starts a quest to legalize prostitution in India. While its entertaining because of the commercial voice, it also addresses grave issues of feminism, prostitution and homosexuality in society.

I received a request to review the book from the author. Although I didn't know the author, the premise of the plot seemed off-beat and interesting, hence accepted the request. However, I was quite disappointed. 

The book is full of grammatical errors. The first time I encountered one, I brushed it off as an editing error, but to my dismay, it did remain a constant feature throughout. Frequent use of analogies to convey a message also seemed unwanted.

The book did show some bursts of promise now and then, but that's about it. I expected to feel for the protagonist and understand her moves as the story moved but I was hardly convinced. The story lacked depth as it moved superficially and ended with a dramatic twist. Well, to cut the long story short, it didn't make the cut for me. The book has some good reviews too, so probably its just me.

Rating: 2.5/5 (for the off-beat plot selection)
Number of pages: 204
Price on Flipkart: Rs.125
Publication: Half-baked beans

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It's raining animals and other things too..

Yes, animals completely dominate our house these days. From prehistoric extinct ones to reptiles to mammals to water animals to what not. If these were not enough, I get to hear new invented names like Moon tiger or such-like. I guess that's what happens when your kid gets too absorbed in the Encyclopedia and Animal Planet and Nat Geo. 

There is also a few found fascination for topics about age, planets, fire, death, etc. Some of this can be attributed to his equally imaginative friend who generously shares some of his valuable knowledge and imaginative stories with R :-) 

Thus, we have some funny and weird conversations.

R: Amma, you know I'm a killer whale. I'm 1000 years old and you can't even carry me!

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His friend has a fascination for the number 5 and is eagerly waiting to turn 5. Of course, this fascination is duly passed on and R wants to know when he'd turn 5. 

R: I'm 4 years old and tomorrow I'll become 5 and be very strong. (It's always tomorrow, btw)

In another instance, he asked me my age and then appa's. His reaction?

"So much?! Then you'll die!"

So much for being subtle about things like death. Sigh!

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At any random time, we can hear R saying this or something to this effect:

"I put you fire and then you'll go out of this Earth or I'll throw you into Saturn!"

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Yeah, the last bit did unsettle me a bit the first time I heard it but considering R's age, I'll give him some rope.  I do make it a point to remind him that we should talk nice things rather than violent ones even if imaginative.  

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I did not experience the (in)famous terrible two's and three's with R in the conventional sense. He did throw challenges but it was more to do with me having to deal with his unrestrained energy levels for most part. But as he crossed the 4th year, I can see a change of wind. He's more assertive than ever before, anxious to have his way in every small thing. A child that never cried even when strongly reprimanded now sheds copious amount of tears when faced with disapproval or denial from us parents. He can really drive me up the wall with out-of-blue and ill-timed demands like having a particular drawing done on his hand (just before leaving for school or before bed) or suddenly 'remembering' a particular toy when outside and demanding to have it right away!

On a positive note, though, I'm happy to see a hunger in him for learning something new and reading/watching constructive material. Just hoping that technology (read gadgets) does not ruin his interest as he grows up.

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