Author - Jui Purohit.

 Victor got up early today. He made his tea, as usual. He skipped reading the newspaper, instead rushed to take bath. At the age of 70, he was quite fit. He lived alone, doing things on his own. There was a maid who helped him with basic chores. But maintaining his garden, making his tea and breakfast, folding his laundry, cleaning his room...all this, he did independently. Today was a special day! He took out his favorite coat from the cupboard. He had already ironed his white shirt and blue trousers. " This coat goes well with the combination", he affirmed to himself. He got dressed up, sprayed some perfume, combed his grey hair in a neat partition. He smiled looking into the mirror, " Blue is her favorite color ", he murmured. " Kya saab? Aaj itna tayar hoke...date pe jaa rahe hai kya?", his maid asked, jokingly. If he had a daughter, she would be of the same age, as the maid. So, they used to have funny conversations, always. " Ha date pe hi jaa r...

 "Why don't you look at me the way the male lead looks at his heroine in this drama series?" Jiya asks Nirav. Nirav glances at Jiya who is watching her favourite Korean drama on the mobile. Nirav is busy in giving finishing touches to his presentation he has in the office the next day. Simultaneously, listening to his playlist on Spotify. He doesn't bother to answer that question.  Jiya pauses the drama, takes a look at her husband who has all eyes on his laptop. She thinks, "Doesn't he care anymore?". And her soliloquy disheartens her. She plays the drama again to distract her thoughts.  Nirav and Jiya have been married for three years now. Both are working for reputed companies, doing seemingly good at respective jobs. While studying engineering both fell in love with computers and each other. And from then have been together. "Korean drama heroes have eyes oozing with affection as if shooting hearts, pink, fuscia, purple, orchid, lavender, crimso...

 "How can you love two people at the same time?", Sakhi exclaimed.  "Why not? Don't we hear stories of Kings having many wives?", Maya argued. Sakhi tried to put her point across, "But that was a different era. And poor Kings!....What? Don't look at me like that. I know it's a paradox. But most of the Kings I suppose didn't marry out of love. They had to strike the deal for expansion of their kingdom or married the princess after defeating her kingdom. They were forced to do so...."  "You are justifying the royals that don't exist anymore and ignoring the feelings of your own best friend?" Maya sighed. "I'm sorry Maya. But I can't support your decision. I mean I would prefer if you decided on one", Sakhi was loud and clear. "What do you mean decide on one? Is it a commodity? Well, I like one of them for his brains and the other for his looks. So what's wrong in that? I don't want to let go of the...

  She was standing there. Her forehead covered with droplets of sweat. It was a warm summer night. Hesitation in her eyes was vivid. She dabbed her forehead with her folded handkerchief, then unfolded it to wipe her neck and nape, carefully sliding her hair to one side. The delicate rose gold chain around her neck dazzled and it interrupted his gaze. He looked a little away. She stood there, indecisive. Whether a yes would mean this girl was easy? And a no, well, that wasn't even an option for her. Where would she go this late at night? It was way past the curfew at her dorm.  She looked at him. His eyes engaged with hers. His heart was pounding. He thought, "You don't need to shield yourself from me. As I want to be the one to protect you, not just today but for the entire life. I want to be the one you could lean on, always. You don't need to worry about staying with me tonight, for, I want to cherish this love and not ruin it by falling for a moment of temptation. Y...

  I love this cheese!", I announced, standing at the cheese stall, in Savona, Northern Italian region. I fell in love with cheese and the young lad fell in love with me! " Hi! I am Christopher, Christopher Colombus. I run this stall along with my father ", he said. I smiled and in a reticent tone, replied with a "Hi!".  I kept visiting his stall and there began our love story. He used to often tell me how he always wanted to travel the world. He loved exploring places. His fairy tale-ish dreams made me fall for him, even more. One day Christopher came to me and said, "I got a job as a business agent, am going to England and Ireland ". I was thrilled to know that he is travelling these far off places. I so wanted to join him on his voyage. But we decided to wait. He said he would come back and we should get married. He finished his work in England and Ireland. He came back but met me once to just tell me he's travelling again, this time it's Po...

 Ravi was now a successful man, doing great in a foreign land. Fighting odds he had earned his position in this big company. He had always been a hard working man. Aisha came to his cabin, to give him a gentle reminder of today's meeting. "Don't forget the Analysis and Market trend reports, the blue and black files. The black one, yesterday in a hurry, I slid it into your fourth drawer", she said and left. "Fourth drawer?", Ravi exclaimed. He hadn't touched the drawer since then. Since he had placed 'that letter' in it. He hesitantly opened the drawer. Took out the black file. He was about to slide the drawer back, but unwillingly, his eyes fell on the letter. The letter which lay untouched, there, its creases marked  by dust. He picked up the letter, brushed away the dust. It was as it is, stamped received, unopened. To,  Ravi kumar, 3682, Taylor street, New Rochelle, New York - 10801. USA. He turned the letter, From, Mithiladevi kumar, 1st floo...

  "Uthale re Deva! Mujhe nahi, isey!"...said his ajoba to Ajay. Ajay, his  college going grandson, had just returned from salon. He had shaved off his mustache. Ajoba didn't like this new version of Ajay. He kept saying things to Ajay. Finally Ajay got frustrated and said, "Thappad se darr nahi lagta Ajoba, apki badbad se lagta hai!". Ajay and his Ajoba had a jovial relation. Ajay's working parents were always busy with their jobs. Aaji had left this world, when Ajay was very small. So, his buddy home, was Ajoba. They both loved to watch movies together. And later would converse using the movie dialogues. They had a fun relationship! Ajoba earnestly said, "Bade bade deshonmei sirf chhoti chhoti baatein nahi hoti, Ajay!, Are you free? Let's have some tea and will tell you my love story". Ajay gladly said, "Neki aur pooch pooch!". Ajoba filled the milk pan with 2 cups of water and put it to boil. Ajay kept the sugar and tea dabbas ready...

  A coffee lover that I am, couldn't do without it, every single morning. My room that I shared with Sakhi, didn't have a kitchen. It had been a ritual of a sort.... every morning after getting up, I used to get down the building, dressed still in my tracks n tee, with sleepy eyes, carried away by the coffee smell, doing a quick run to the coffee shop just around the corner. The girl at counter of the shop, too, was accustomed to my daily order; Caffè Latte with no sugar. It wasn't a Starbucks type of a shop, rather a very reasonable one. So as a student I could afford it. This one sip of Latte and my eyes would instantly open wide. "Yeah! Thats my high", was my soliloquy. On the way back, sometimes, I would buy breakfast for Sakhi and me. On other days she would do so. We used to have it together, get ready for college and proceed. Our college was at a walkable distance. There was this array of trees, in full blossoms of yellow and pink, red and white, on both la...

 "You know what? You should add a leaf of black Tulsi when fermenting Dahi and don't let it ferment for long. Make your Mother-In-Law (MIL) eat this everyday, it will surely help", said one of her relatives to Shraddha. Shraddha was a newlywed daughter-in-law of the household. It hadn't been 4 months and her MIL was detected with cancer. Shraddha came from a lower middle class family. She hadn't brought in much with her, in the marriage. Few kitchen ware items, some warm quilts, some basic jewellery and a black Tulsi plant. Her dad always told her about how medicinal the black Tulsi is! So he had given her one, during her bidaai. Shraddha's day always started with watering the Tulsi plant. Joining palms, she would pray for well-being of everyone. In the evenings, she used to lit a diya besides the plant and pray again. Today she went to water the plant, pluck some Tulsi leaves. She followed the instructions and fermented the dahi accordingly. She gave it to he...

  I shifted with my maa to the Banerjee residence. A huge house, with rooms built in a circle and a courtyard in the middle. There was a well too. It was more like a palace. I had never seen such a house before nor had my maa previously worked somewhere like this. They had offered us, to stay at the servant's quarter. The room was in the far left corner of the house, a bit detached from the remaining building. "A proper room!", I had thought seeing the neat and tidy space. Maa said we were lucky to get such a job. Maa had to help the daughter-in-law of the house, Sushmita bouma, in the kitchen, iron and fold clothes. She also had to take care of the main lady of the house, Misthi ma. I was admitted to a nearby school in standard 9. Maa and me got up early in the morning, bathed, got ready. She watered the plants. Took off the dried clothes from the rope. I helped her in her work. Maa took them to the ironing room. I followed her, carrying some clothes. Maa started ironing...

 Rani, a beautiful and attractive woman in her 20's. While crossing the road, she fell in front of a posh car. The young man on the wheel, thought, he had hit her. He immediately got out of his car to check on her. She acted as if she was fainting and fell in his arms. He took her to the hospital. Doctor said that she must've fainted because of the shock, but she's alright now. Rani and the young man met several times later. She had perfectly planned and made him fall for her. He was head over heels for her now. Soon they decided to marry. Rani had already told him that she's an orphan.  So no-one from her side would attend their wedding. He promised to give her all the love she had missed over the years. They tied the knot in a temple and it was their 1st night after marriage. Rani carefully added sleeping pills in the glass of milk, to be consumed by him. Rani lovingly handed over the glass and he drank it in one go. After few minutes he fell asleep. Rani called up he...

 It was a movie night with my buddy. We were watching this movie and... "Marry your best friend", they said, "It will be fun!"..... I looked at Neha and she gazed at me, no actually stared at my eyes... and we both broke into a hearty laugh! Neha said, "Imagine, What if?".... "I am absolutely not a gay nor lesbian. But what happens if best friends that too girls, marry?". Yes! they know each other well enough...their deep dark secrets, fantasies..... more so, their reactions and responses, on something...that too they can predict! Isn't it all, what a perfect relationship requires? I know it's against societal norms, it sounds weird...blah..blah!!! But what if, someone feels comfortable with her best girl buddy rather than a stranger she's gonna be tied to? I ain't a preacher of gay marriages, nor an advocate for lesbian relationship. I won't be doing it for sure. But those who are 'for it', I will surely root for them...

 "I will finish this tomorrow, first thing in the morning, Sir!", I assured. But my boss wanted me to complete the reports right there. "But Sir, it's already late and....". He cut me in between and said, "Yes! Exactly it's already too late". He was reluctant to budge on his words and left. I sat down at my desk. I looked at my watch, "It's 9.45 p.m. If I get a 10.30 local train, I will reach by 11.45, then approximately by 12.10 a.m. I should reach home". I calculated in my head, side by side, completing my task. I was a bit skeptical about reaching home late. "And here you go", I submitted the reports, closed the window, shut the desktop. Hurriedly packed my things, took my bag and left. "Kya Madam, aaj itna late? 10.25 ho gaye!", the security guard said. I checked my watch, it was showing 10.00 p.m. "Kya? 10.25?", I reconfirmed. My time had stopped.....I mean my watch had stopped...working! "Oh!Go...

  "Coffee date hi to hai, Mumma, go na!", Akshara said to Sheela. Sheela was sitting on a rocking chair by the window. She closed her eyes and a flashback of Anant struck in front of her. "He loved going on dates. He loved to give me surprises. Our favourite café was right at the corner of the supermarket. After shopping for groceries, he would grab my hand and out of blue, take me to the café, on a date. Behave in public Anant, I would say...Atleast umar ka lihaaj karo hamari. Even at 90, I will hold a walking stick in one hand and grab your hand tightly, with other, he used to say, smirking at me", Sheela recalled. Sheela opened her eyes, stopped rocking the chair, looked outside the window. She saw a rainbow. "Rainbow means hope, let's try again for a baby Sheela", Anant had said, wiping her tears, after her 1st missed carriage. Akshara put her hands on Sheela's shoulders. Tears dropped from Sheela's eyes. Akshara hugged her and said Mumma, ...

 She tied a knot with Neil, in an arranged marriage. Well-to-do, joint family, settled business of generations, an educated groom, servants at home, all in all, there was no reason to find faults with this prospect for affinity. Neetu was happy and elders in family said, "Diya leke doondhnese bhi nahi milta aisa rishta, khud chalke aye hai, aur kya chahiye?". After their marriage, they went on a honeymoon for a week. Once they were back, Neil got busy with his business. Neetu got busy with settling down in her new environment. She learned their style of cooking, she helped her MIL (Mother-in-law) with the household chores. Neetu was a graduate herself but "Sab kuch to hai tumhare paas, job karne ki kya jarurat?", such advices from her elders made her disregard the thought of working. Everyday she would assure herself that she's fortunate to be daughter-in-law of such prestigious family. She assured herself that she is contented. But at the end of the day she fel...

  "Tere liye sapnoki jhalar bunu,  kaliyonsa gajare mei bandhe firu, dhoop lage jaha tujhe chaya banu, Aaja sajana....." Sapna was listening to her favorite songs on Caravan......weaving her dreams of having her happy family with Prateek. Prateek and Sapna were madly in love with each other. They had met in first year of college and were still together, even after 7 years. Sapna was waiting for Prateek that evening. She wanted to surprise him with a good news....news that they are going to be a family soon. Sapna was pregnant, "So what if we are not married yet? Our love is pure and I know after knowing about the baby, Prateek will soon tie a knot!", she assured herself. She wanted to hold what was hers tightly and the not let the clench set loose. Prateek's parents were against this love. "She's an orphan. God knows who and how her parents were? We are a reputed family, we can't accept a girl who's background is vague", Prateek's paren...

 It was Shagun's Mehendi function. She was getting married to her childhood sweetheart Karan. She had always dreamt of a elaborate wedding - doli, baraat, mehendi, sangeet. They had 'played house' tons of times, when they were kids. But now, was the real, bona fide event. "Baccha, kitni pyaari lag rahi hai, kala tika lagati hu aaja", said Shagun's mom. Shagun was wearing an orange ghagra choli with bright pink borders. Carefully lifting her ghagra, she sat on a beautifully decorated platform. It was Monsoon theme, with colorful umbrellas hanging, the white and gold flower decorations, perfectly matched the theme. Champa had come to apply the bridal mehendi, to the bride and other family members. "Champa, badhki ki shaadi ke baad aaj dikhi hai, kaha thi?", asked Shagun's taiji. "Bas yahi hu taiji, pati bimar tha, usi mei thi", Champa replied. "Aab sab thik hai na?", taiji inquired. "Ji, thik to hai, par woh chal nahi sakta...

 Just because I said so?, said her baba, tears rolled down his eyes. Her maa patted his back, sharing his sorrow, her eyes drenched in tears too. Suhana had visited them after 4 years. Her son was 2 years old. She had met Adi while attending a sketching class. Adi was assisting a curator at an exhibition centre. He was a painter himself. His inclination towards art was so vivid, that he had decided to learn every detail, from painting the picture to exhibiting his talent, the entire process. Suhana was studying commerce and wanted to carry on her passion of sketching. So to brush up her skills and make it more professional, she had joined the class. The curator had sent Adi to the sketch teacher to know about the exhibit entries for their upcoming event.  The teacher asked Adi for a favour. He requested Adi to be the muse for the day, as the person responsible didn't turn up. The students were waiting to start their sketching class. Adi agreed and went inside the classroom. Su...

 We, our family of four, had so much fun on our trip to Dalhousie. The uphill trek to Dainkund Peak, the picturesque mountain, the beautiful scenery! The trekking trails of Kalatop Khajjar Sanctuary, relaxing in the path of Ravi river, surrounded by coniferous and oak forests. The walk on the Garam Sadak, the amazing street to walk down on while watching the beauty of Dalhousie.  And we were back after a lot of walking and trekking, somewhat exhausted but with fresh minds.  As always, after every trip, I had announced, Chalo, abb jo bhi situation ayega, am ready to face!  We reached home, opened the door of our house, carried our luggage inside. As my ritual goes, I go to the kitchen first (even before going to the washroom), to check things. My younger son followed me, "Mumma, give me some water". I handed him the glass and while drinking he screamed loudly. They were there....the uninvited guests, waiting for me. "Cockroaches! Mumma cockroaches!", my son started j...

 "Where's the dance club", she asked one of the seniors, standing in the corridors of the college. He told her "Room no. 13 to the left ". She thought he's kidding. She confirmed yet again....."Rrrroom no.....13?". He affirmed. Shreya was a bit of superstitious. 13 is an unlucky number, so to say. She was somewhat scared too. "Are they pulling my leg? Ragging me or something?....but dance is my dream and destination. I have to join this club in order to get recognised", she thought. Shreya walked down the corridors. She turned left and there was the room....no.13. She was at the door and hesitantly peeped in. There were few students sitting in the audience seats. Some were standing in the wings of the stage, making some electrical connections for mic and speakers. One corner was occupied by girls, giggling, watching some video and her eyes fell on a handsome young man, with a guitar in his hands.  He was stringing ...Everything I do..I do...