Memoirs, Short Stories, and Poems, Since 2011
-
The Present of Port Patrick
Read more: The Present of Port PatrickA picture of Clancy, clad in a purple shirt and perched on the bench of a cabin deck, with his back to the camera, as he gazed into the green pastures of a coastal hamlet, made me want to relive the cherished moments associated with the place, besides prodding me,…
-
Rambles Through the Tropical Treasures of Dakshina Kannada
Read more: Rambles Through the Tropical Treasures of Dakshina KannadaThe pandemic of 2020 brought a brief reprieve from the wearying rigmarole of the needless daily commute, a routine that had reduced me to an automaton. It also brought me closer to my hometown, which I had left fifteen years ago in pursuit of worldly aspirations; to its abundant nature…
-
Austria: Fondly Stray Over the Hills and Far Away
Read more: Austria: Fondly Stray Over the Hills and Far AwayChapter I The wait in Salzburg – A frolicsome terrier – Salzburg to Strobl – Appeal of the Alps – The guest house – Strolling through Strobl Early summer, we hiked across the lakes, rivers, and hills of Austria, fanatically picturing the picturesque environs, like rivals on a photography assignment.…
-
The Romantic Allure of the Inner Hebrides
Read more: The Romantic Allure of the Inner HebridesChapter I In anticipation of Barbara – Loch Lomond – Highland Clearances – Scottish folk songs – Sheep pastoralism – Windstorm My journey to the Scottish Highlands coincided with the tidings of the arrival of Storm Barbara, and thus devoid of excitement, I embarked on the tour bus across George…
-
Valparai: A Tonic for Withered Senses
Read more: Valparai: A Tonic for Withered SensesThe asphalt jungle transformed into tremendous windmills when the first light, along with a gush of cold wind, woke me from a searing slumber of six hours. Across the vast wind farms, I glimpsed a young peahen, bewildered by the vehicular movement around her, take to flight. Further ahead, musters…
-
Caution and Evasion in Sanapur
Read more: Caution and Evasion in SanapurEager to employ leaves of absence a few weeks before they expired, I booked a round-trip ticket between Bangalore and Hospet, and a guestroom in Sanapur. Two days later, I packed my backpack with unsteady hands and took the bus to Hospet, with a broken heart. The bus reached the…
-
Gustav’s Obsession
Read more: Gustav’s ObsessionTwo hours before sunset, Gustav ventured out to the beach, for it was during this time of the day that his canine companion, Becca, enjoyed plunging into the waves and chasing sea creatures. The weather was agreeable. ‘Could the evening get any better?’ thought Gustav. Through the saline drops collected…
-
Journey of Electricity
Read more: Journey of ElectricityIn this poetry, electricity, resistance and inductance are personified. Electricity (electrical current) is the narrator. Circumambient gloom (surrounding dimness) refers to the resistance which is a property by virtue of which the passage of current is opposed, causing electric energy to be transformed into heat. In a substation, electrical current…
-
The Boy of the Mountain
Read more: The Boy of the MountainA dream The boy of the mountain dreams. With his ewe always by his side, Places more than a few He explores. Unacquainted with the adversities that meet one’s life, He sets his long day’s journey into the night. In the middle of the hours of darkness, He awakes to…
-
Glen Tilt: A Mosaic of Landscapes
Read more: Glen Tilt: A Mosaic of LandscapesTo relish a rare balmy day in October, as well as to fulfil Dian’s yearly desire of soaking up the autumnal splendour, we repaired to Glen Tilt, a secluded valley in the north of Perthshire, where we were to set off on a day-long excursion. One might find trails dedicated…
-
Stung by Sweet Desert Rose
Read more: Stung by Sweet Desert RoseThe more I listen to music, the more I realise how deeply I am enraptured by it. When I light upon a song that instantly appeals to me, I feel thrilled knowing I have more music in the world for my dopamine. I discovered Sting when his Desert Rose played…
-
A Celestial Descension
Read more: A Celestial DescensionThe Rendezvous Witnessing a snowfall for the first time in a long time, Lilac recorded the feathery flakes falling from an indiscernible sky, swathing a sombre landscape. Most trees had shed their amber leaves to submit entirely to the oncoming winter, the piercing cold of which discouraged her from leaving…
-
One and a Half and My Common Sense in Tatters
Read more: One and a Half and My Common Sense in TattersMy level of silliness both amazes and amuses me sometimes. It is no wonder that I am—rightly—the laughing stock of my family. Last evening, I was at a neighbour’s to celebrate her birthday. One of the invited guests was a toddler. No sooner had the toddler arrived than he—squatting down—opened…
-
An Unpunished Sisyphus
Read more: An Unpunished SisyphusWhen I first stumbled upon a depiction of Sisyphus on the Internet, I failed to comprehend his predicament—might I say, its supposed dark humour was lost on me. Five years later, in the context of my own abode, I have come to perceive the absurdity of his situation—alas, I am…
-
New York Minutes
Read more: New York MinutesWhat a strange place, I thought, glancing at a vagrant with a jolly countenance, accompanied by a dog, greeting passers-by; a boy spreading a blanket over his girlfriend, who was curled up on the busy pavement; and a hopeful man with a cardboard sign stating that he is in the…
-
New Jersey: First Sojourns in the West
Read more: New Jersey: First Sojourns in the WestIt was nearing the end of autumn when I first flew to the west. Trees bore cherry red and yellow ochre leaves. Skies reflected a mellow blue. Nights seemed cold. The knowledge of my impending departure prompted me, on most late evenings after work, to walk around the neighbourhood and…
-
An Evening in the Old City of Edinburgh
Read more: An Evening in the Old City of EdinburghOutside the Edinburgh Waverley station, I saw Marley, the brown dog whose master, a vagrant, had allowed me to stroke her when I was last there. This time, I was determined to observe my surroundings as opposed to the last time, when I had blinders on, and thus, I was…
-
574213: A Lost Hometown
Read more: 574213: A Lost HometownI am in Kesargadde, the village where I grew up. Presently, I am living in my father’s ancestral house, where the passage of sunlight is narrow, owing to the design and location of the windows. The antique bathroom located outside has a doorless window through which I see the banana…
-
No Scooter, No Problem: Pondicherry by Shank’s Pony
Read more: No Scooter, No Problem: Pondicherry by Shank’s PonyFor three days, my best friend Rebecca and I roamed the streets of Pondicherry with a road map in her hand and a camera in mine. The time seemed so long that by the second day, she knew the route by rote. We stayed at La Maison Radha, a clean…
-
Office Trip: The One That Materialised
Read more: Office Trip: The One That MaterialisedWith such excitement we began our journey to a hilly region that the bus we had occupied was transformed into a nightclub, with drinks of one’s choice being served, and with men dancing to the tunes of Khalnayak and other songs from the nineties, paying no heed to the message,…
-
Ina’s Darkest Evening
Read more: Ina’s Darkest EveningThe boot was shut. The door was slammed. The orange car left the deserted wayside right away. Ina, the motorist, was having a bad hair day; one could take her, particularly today, for a sloven. Presently, she allowed herself to be amused by the construction of her social identity. There…
-
Making Peace With the Hairpins in the Nilgiris
Read more: Making Peace With the Hairpins in the NilgirisA long weekend and the desire to escape the growing heat of the city encouraged me to leave my workplace earlier than usual one Friday evening and travel to the Nilgiris. As my companion and I headed to the bus station, we were aware of the odds of returning home…
-
A Road Trip With Cousins
Read more: A Road Trip With CousinsWith our winter gear on, we left the city in the wee hours of December to spend the next two days in Wayanad, Kerala. As a car driver, it was my first interstate road trip. The thought of manoeuvring the hair-pin bends fretted me, although it had been decided that…
-
The Warmth of His Muffler
Read more: The Warmth of His MufflerThe Embrace at Dusseldorf Last October, Unam accepted an invitation to know a stranger with the mutual intent of determining whether their correspondence would lead to a romantic affair—they fell for each other. Six months into it, she grew wings to fly to see him, in flesh and bone, for…
-
Saltwater
Read more: SaltwaterHe strode along the body He liked to call paradise With the eyes of a child Who saw a vast stretch of turquoise For the first time. With all her splendour She enticed the gullible one, While others resisted the temptation Her presence caused By seeing none. Fragile creatures of…
-
Nooma at the Motel
Read more: Nooma at the Motel‘Thank you, sir. This is indeed the motel I was looking for’. Nooma fumbled for a few extra bucks in her satchel to offer the elderly taxi driver for the kindness that she had received from him during their extended journey. They were the brightest neon lights that she had…
-
Norah and the Lizard
Read more: Norah and the Lizard‘It was only a minor accident. Why can’t I seem to pull myself together? I must divert my mind,’ Norah thought, as she ascended the stairs of the apartment where she had a place to stay. Half past ten her phone displayed. The naked stray dogs in the neck of…
-
To Be You
Read more: To Be YouHow is it to be you? I wonder, For your poems depict loneliness At its peak. Would my company In some way Help you forget the world You live in? But to meet you, I am afraid, Knowing you will loathe me For who I seem to be. This distance,…
-
Between Faith and Fear
Read more: Between Faith and FearHave you lived between faith and fear, Sleepless and anxious for someone dear? Don’t you wish to escape the moment When losing is such a torment? Could you again comfort yourself When the distressing phase repeats itself? You know every life will have its end; Yet it takes forever for…