Quo Vadis?

The choir was singing the final hymn and the people were moving to pay their last respects to the deceased person. Annoyed at being dragged along by his parents for a funeral service of someone he hardly knew, Rajesh gave a bored look around. He made a double take when he noticed someone who looked familiar, their eyes met for a brief moment and she recognized him a brief moment before he did. As the crowd moved closer to the entrance following the funeral procession she managed to come closer to him. “What are you doing here? Are you planning to pull another stunt like your friend? Is this a place for it?” she hissed to him, not looking directly at him as her family was close by. “Wait! I came for the funeral service!” said Rajesh softly. “How do you know thatha?” she asked softly. “Thatha??!! Ok dad and his son are classmates, that’s dad over there, we came to pay our respects. I am sorry for your loss, you must have been close” Rajesh replied. “He is my paternal grand fath...

"This is a bad idea", said Rajesh to Edwin looking at the greeting card with hearts all over in the Landmark store. Having gone through all the cards for the last half hour and having found the one which he felt was apt for his feelings Edwin felt let down.  "Tell me again, why do you want to give this card to that girl, what did you say her name was again? Anita in the electric train?" persisted Rajesh. "Ok, I know she likes me machan, I have been seeing her for the last two months as she takes the train home and she has noticed me many times. I can feel that she likes me" said Edwin slowly. "Have you spoken to her?"  "No! I was too nervous!" "You think that she will take this card?" "Yes! Look at the words, they were written just for me! God bless Landmark" "Ok, I will come along with you but remember you will give the card alone, I am just there for moral support" "There she is!...

He still was not sure how Iniya agreed to the "date", well technically she agreed to meet him for some time outside their usual Nungambakkam platform and it developed into a milk shake in Sangeetha's that was a short distance away. He managed to hitch a ride with his best friends and Edwin could not restrain the big smile when he was told the big secret and Edwin being Edwin ensured that the big secret was known to the gang and so the gang all honourably agreed to drop Rajesh at Sangeetha's. After dropping him and wishing the very best they left and Rajesh with anxiety large on his face waited for Iniya. Time crawls when you wait but mercifully Iniya breezed in with a smile and they found a cozy alcove seating two in the restaurant. He offered the menu to Iniya  and struggled to read the letters in the dark mood lighting of the place, why it has to be dark in the afternoon hours in a hot city like Madras puzzled him and he heard Iniya asking for a drink that ...

(Image courtesy: Google Images) Little kids can be so amusing or annoying, especially the wailing types. The small crowd that was wandering around the church fair observed with some amusement at 6 year old Tina who was loudly asking her mother for some ear rings on display at the counter. After much discussion Tina’s father got her the ear rings despite the apparent exasperation of her mother. The big smile on Tina’s face was so contagious that the other shoppers smiled and went back to their shopping. Tina was walking around with her new ear rings tightly clasped when she saw another girl sobbing profusely. Her parents were trying to console her but failing miserably. By now the other shoppers started showing signs of annoyance wagging their heads at the wailing child and her helpless parents who could not control her. Tina looked at the little girl went up to her and gave her the ear rings, said “Merry Christmas!” and walked away. The crying girl looked at the ear ring...

This is the epilogue for a story that is in the depths of my mind. If you have missed the prologue, you can read it here . If you want to know what happened in between the two keep watching this space. Epilogue August 22 nd 2015 “Machan! You have not changed! Except for this funny accent Melbourne has not changed you, you are still the man from Mount” said Edwin as he disengaged from the affectionate hug. He gazed at Rajesh with mixed feelings. It was after all a meeting after over 15 years and the first since he heard the news. “Come home man, I am still not sure why you want to meet here?” said Edwin. “Today would have been our 10 th anniversary and I wanted to be here where it all started” said Rajesh.  They both paused as the Beach Tambaram local pulled into the station and people rushed to disembark or board the train. In a few minutes the train pulled out and Rajesh resumed, “Iniya said yes to me here at this soft drink shop when I proposed and I w...

“How much is it for a day?” he asked. When he heard the amount he made some mental calculations and then handed over the crisp notes that would feed all the 20 inmates of that home for one day. He collected the receipt from the grateful lady at the desk and started his bike. The next day he met his friends at their usual hangout and over their large pizzas and unlimited colas they were having a great time when he suddenly remembered the receipt. “Hey guys I have the receipt of the Helping Hands food payment with me. Let’s pool in the cash guys, I am running dry as I paid for all” he said. “Hold on, let us finish dinner and then we will discuss it” replied his friend. “Guys I got the bill, its 2890, including taxes, split five ways it is 600 per person including the tip” he said after looking at the bill and making yet another mental calculation. He collected the money from his friends and placed it in the bill fold along with his share and  signaled  the waiter. Tu...

This is a special post; it is special because this is about a compilation of short stories. It is also special because I have also written one of the 21 stories in the compilation. Without much ado I will jump right in and focus on the other stories that are in the book. I will refrain from focusing on the individual stories because they span various genres, styles and timelines. They are tied together by a few threads; the first being they are set in Chennai, this book was spurred by the Chennai floods and each of the authors had been affected by the flood in one way or the other, the majority of the authors are amateur bloggers and this is possibly their maiden published piece. Let me first get the good things out of the way: -           The compilation merited a publisher and this shows that the book has touched people even before it hit the stands -           The beautiful fore...

Prologue June 25 th 1995 “Damn I missed it!” he groaned in frustration as he saw the Beach Tambaram local pull out of the station as he ran from the staircase in Nungambakkam suburban station. “Why did the egomaniac choose today to have the discussion on the project?” he rued. The egomaniac was the de facto HOD of his department, The Computer Science Department in the self- financing Stream of Loyola College. A stream that had an odd timing that ensured its students never fit in with the other students, coming in when the Day College ended and going out nearly the time when the Evening College ended. It also ensured that the return trips from college were always in the peak hour with the office crowd for the students taking the train like Rajesh. The highs of getting into one of the most prestigious colleges in the country waned soon for Rajesh when he realized that he and his classmates felt like misfits since they simply could not fit in. He walked up to the coin op...

Dear Wonderful, I am writing this letter knowing that you will not read it, you will overlook this the way you overlooked what we could have been together. I write this letter because though you are no longer here it has not changed the way I feel about you. I love you the same as I loved you when you first swept into my life and it did not change when you crept out my life. Why should it change, just because you changed? My love was unconditional and is unconditional. It was not based on what you wanted but is full of what I have. I know that it made an impression on you when you said yes and if it did not stop you from leaving then the fault is not in my love because it never changed. It is possible that your expectations did not match reality. Love is not a contract, though a marriage may be. Love is not give and take, it is simply giving and if you receive in return it is a blessing, if you do not receive and you feel bad about it then it is surely not love.  I...

Life they say is a great teacher, the lessons taught by life and the tests that its throws up are fascinating because we usually tend to forget the successes and wallow in the failures. In forgetting these successes we miss so much. I stared at the pretty sleep lined face, partly covered by the sheet, the crop of silky hair peeking out and the impish smile on the face that was a result of a pleasant dream and I realized that my forefinger was tightly enclosed by the hand that just emerged from under the sheet. As my wind wandered back in time I remembered that day when I passed another test of life. Waiting in a hospital is never a pleasant thing especially there is always the fear of the unknown and hospitals are not the cheeriest of places to wait. So as I waited with mixed feelings I was called by name and then the doctor said in cinematic style “Congratulations! it’s a girl.” In that brief moment I saw a baby and even before the thought could sink in the doctor had gone be...

She sat across him with mixed feelings in the coffee shop; the mouth watering desserts between them did not distract her, that was a first! She waited for him to make the first move, after all she had asked him out for coffee and after a brief hesitation he had agreed. He had been watching her for a few days before she was even aware of him & then it was her turn for furtive glances every time they ended up on the same floor in the IT Park. Her heart beat a little faster waiting for him to speak, in the last few days she had stalked him on the various social sites and now she knew a lot about him & she was sure that he would know her too. She was puzzled that he was so hesitant to speak & also that he was not making eye contact. Finally he made up his mind & said, " akka, your choco lava cake is tempting me, can I have one  spoon pls? ".... (Image courtesy Google Images)

She was getting ready for the wedding. It was a wedding of a distant relative so a lot of known people will be there and surely her close circle will not miss it. She looked at the clock, the visit to the parlour had not gone as planned again. She planned to just do one thing and then succumbing to the stylist she decided to do one more and now she was running late but one look at the mirror told her that it was worth the effort. Now she was rushing to get her clothes just right, the silk sari had come from the dry cleaners earlier, the blouse, the accessories, the jewellery all coordinated and arranged… She came out and saw him lounging on the sofa with a scowl on his face, one eye on the match and another on the clock. The fact that the match was live was adding another crease to the brow. She noticed that he had changed into a "Friday dressing" shirt and pant and was wearing loafers, the only concession to his work wear. She looked at him for a comment and when nothi...

This post has been published as a part of 'CBC's The Valentine's Day's One post One Scene Tag' Read previous scene by Uma Maheswari Anandane   here .....   I have been giving the honour of finishing this story and for a first timer it was a challenge.     “Good night sweet heart”, said Guru kissing the sleeping Yazhini on her fore head and tucking her into the bed switched off the light.   “Is that your idea of putting a two year old to sleep Mr. Guru?” asked Ahalya in mock anger.   “Yes, I tell her a story and put her to sleep” said Guru with a smile. “A   story? The story of our marriage is hardly something you tell to make a child to sleep and the twists that you make up” said Ahalya with exasperation. “And I have lost count of the twists that keep happening with each telling, and how did you become the savior of the world when you cannot even save a seat for me in the kutcheri last Sunday?”   “Come on Ahal...