Why Don't You Write?

`Why don’t you write these days? It has been a while since you wrote something.`

He did not have a response. He knew he was guilty. Guilty to her and guilty to himself. There were thousands of stories within him, hundreds of poems bubbling, waiting to be leashed out and a string of words that came into his dreams every night, but yet there was something that was stopping him. Was it the famous writer’s block? Was it inertia and laziness? Was it distractions that gave him instant gratification without much effort in comparison to writing which took its own time and effort and the gratification wasn’t even guaranteed?

Yet, whenever she would ask him innocently on why he wasn’t writing these days, he felt as if he owed it to her to sit down and write something. It was even ironic that while he himself was struggling to write, he kept pushing her to write every now and then and she would oblige by coming up with the most beautiful stories that were recognizable and relatable to all, stories that resonated with its readers, stories that stripped the outer layer of human emotions that were all made up and went deeper. It was as if she had access to the realms of people that they themselves weren’t aware of, but yet, every time they would read what she had written, it would leave them with a pang of pain, a sense of moral dilemma or deep pathos that made them sit back and reflect.

He was her biggest critic as well as her biggest admirer. He would read lines and words in her story that would make him wonder in awe on how she thinks, what brings to the surface such deep lines and how she surprises him by going one step further in her craft than what he would think is her limit.  Oddly, he would feel proud that she belonged to him and loved him, that she had the purest heart which got reflected in her stories, that she wrote on his insistence every time and yet his writer mind would also feel a tinge of jealousy. He would happily tell the world that she writes and would urge others to read what she wrote and yet he would wish that someday his craft would get sharper enough to stand next to hers. He knew there was some distance to be covered, he knew that her writing was the spark that he needed every now and then to improve his writing but what he kept forgetting was that to even come close to her, he had to write first.

Why don’t you write these days was a question that she asked him innocently but she didn’t know that it started the rusting machinery once again. 

Perspectives of Before and After

I observed him carefully as he walked to the door. I knew that time was running out but suppressed the urge to check my watch. I took a deep breath and started counting in reverse under my breath. "Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

The nano-seconds between each count seemed like they had their own long life. I could hear the whirring of the fan, the sound of the foot-steps coming from the wooden corridor at the far corner from where I was lying, and even the pouring of water from the clay pot that was kept outside my room.

“How is this even possible?” I said to myself. When I can see everyone very clearly, how is it that they are not able to see me trying to call out to them. I had just heard the doctor tell his team “He is no more”. The electronic cardiogram that was buzzing had also stopped making any sound.

“Six, Five, Four, Three, Two…” I could hear conversations that went like “How should we inform his family?”, “His case wasn’t complicated. How did this happen.”, “Maybe he came with a heart ailment and it just got amplified during the course of the treatment.”. One nurse said “I will start finishing the formalities for a Death Certificate to be issued.”

Beep, beep, beep. The electro cardiogram comes to life again. A flush of activity ensues with many footsteps that rush into the room. A nurse rushes out to call the senior doctor. The doctor rushes in with a look of shock on his face. He quickly checks my pulse rate and my breathing. He asks the nurse to hand over some injection, which he injects in my stomach. I do not feel any sensation or pain. A straight jab into my stomach and I do not feel anything? Is it the effect of anesthesia?

“Sir, we forgot to give anesthesia to him.” says a junior doctor. The senior doctor looks at him with cross eyes “I was called into this suddenly. But what were you doing? You should have pointed this out before I put in the injection. It’s good that he is still unconscious. This is nothing less than miraculous. Call the press and turn it into a fabulous story of how I saved this man from the jaws of death by using my skills and my years of experience. It will be beneficial for our hospital as well and the Dean and the Trust will be very happy. A hospital in the middle of two cities is anyway not the most popular hospital. Atleast, this will get us some publicity.”

“But Sir, you had declared him dead. He has come to life on his own.” Chipped in the junior doctor once again. The senior doctor gets livid now and says “This is the problem with you newbies. You do not understand anything of the corporate hospital world and then you wonder that why your career is not going anywhere. Just do as I say and stop putting your brains to everything.”

I do not remember anything after that. I woke up the next morning and there was glucose being given to me intravenously. There was a nurse monitoring my pulse rate. She looked at me and said “Good Morning Mr. Jonathan. How are you feeling now? You are a very lucky man to be alive today.”

I said “Thank You Nancy. I think God wanted that. Dr. Gandhi and his team have done a great job.”

Nancy turned pale. It seemed as if she had seen a ghost. She started stuttering “Uh uh h..hh…how do you know my name, and the names of everyone else? You were brought in unconscious and you only gained consciousness today.”

Now it was my turn to get surprised and shocked. “I don’t know. But I remember all the names that were being discussed in this room while I was being treated.”

Nancy got scared. She kept the medicine tray that she was holding aside and rushed out of the room. ‘What was going on? If I was unconscious, how did I know all the names?’ I tried thinking but I couldn’t figure out a reason. Did I just have a near-death experience? I had read about people going through it, but never believed in it.

I switched on the television set. There he was. Looking smug with the stethoscope, precariously dangling on his white coat. These were his quotes:

“Jonathan was brought in, under a very severe condition. A lot of blood had been lost and he was unconscious. Two hospitals had refused taking him in as it was a police case, but the minute I saw him, without bothering about protocols, I asked my team to bring him into the operation theatre. The operation lasted for six hours. It was a complex operation, but with the help of my team, we were able to save Jonathan and now he is completely out of danger. The only problem is that the accident was so severe that Jonathan’s spinal cord has broken at multiple places and he has been paralysed from waist down, and hence he won’t be able to walk again”

I knew that all of this wasn’t true. I remembered the night quite clearly. I was being driven in his Rolls Royce by my driver on the Jaipur-Delhi highway, when the truck came from the right side. The headlights of the truck at that speed were blinding enough for the driver to just freeze. All I could do was just stare at the headlights rushing towards me. Within seconds, I felt my body being thrown to one side, my spine making a sound of a crack, my head hitting the window and then I think I lost consciousness.

A tear rolled down my cheek on realizing that I won’t be able to walk again. My entire life till date flashed before my eyes – growing up in the bylanes of Sultanpur, a small village in Delhi, doing odd jobs to help my family make ends meet, attending night school to get educated and get out of this misery, my first job as a waiter, working hard and rising through the ranks to the manager level, taking a hefty loan to buy my first small hotel to setting up a chain of hotels to now having establishing the hotel chain globally.

Life had been a roller coaster ride for me and today, it seemed as if the roller coaster is turning upside down and all that I had accumulated so far was falling to the ground.

My hunger for success was so huge that I had committed all my life to become more and more successful. My job was my passion. So much so that I never found the time to find love, to get married or to have kids. Today, as I heard those words ring in his ears “He won’t be able to walk again”, I wanted someone’s shoulder to cry on, someone’s hand to hold. I hadn’t felt lonelier in my life than today. I did not want this to happen to me. I had not bargained for this. I had not worked so hard to reach this stage. Why was life being so unfair to me? What will I do now?

This was the moment when I felt that I could either let my hotel empire wither away or turn this empire into something that generations would remember me for. I had to have a purpose in life. In an instant, I knew what I will do. I will make my hotel chain the ‘Best Hotel Chain for the Disabled’.

It was an eye-opener for me when I started visiting my own properties on a wheel chair after a few months. I realized that the hotel properties that I was so proud of were not user friendly for the disabled at all. We did not have proper ramps across the property; we did not have assistance in the rooms and bathrooms so that the disabled could do their tasks properly and without any help. Some of our restaurants had a few steps to climb, making them completely inaccessible to the disabled. We identified 41 different issues that needed to be fixed across all my properties and it took six months and a lot of money to get these issues fixed as some of them meant reconstruction and changes in layout. I had to convince the Board to see the value behind these expenses. I remember that while the Board understood my own personal condition, they were still debating the merit of carrying out all these changes. I sealed the decision in my favour when I reminded all of them that if our ethos was all about giving the best service to our guests, then there were no reason for us to distinguish our guests. There shouldn’t be a guest who comes to our hotel and feels like he was not taken care of.

While we kept making changes to our layout to make it more comfortable and friendly for the disabled, people did not notice these changes for a while. Our moment of truth came when we had renowned physicist Professor Stephen Hawking visiting India and staying at one of our hotel properties. He and his entire team were amazed with the attention to detail that we had given to every possible problem that a disabled person faces. In one of the interviews that Professor Hawking gave to the media, he mentioned that how he has traveled the world but no other hotel property comes close to the one where he stayed in India when it comes to taking care of all the needs of a disabled person.

I couldn’t have got a bigger endorsement than this. It just proved to me that we are doing something right. There was no stopping after that and our list of guests who were disabled just shot up significantly. It was not that these people were not travelling or not staying in hotels, but till then they would just stay in any hotel as all the hotel chains had the same problems. But now, they knew that there was one hotel chain that would take care of them. With more and more guests, word of mouth of the hotel started increasing further and it has reached a stage where we are operating with 95% occupancy for most part of the year. We now have a policy where we always prioritise and accommodate guests who are disabled over other guests as we understand that other guests can go and stay in some other hotel as well. We do not like to refuse to any of our guests, but when a choice has to be made, we know who will get the first preference.

I spend most of my time in one or the other of my property and when guests come and meet me personally and thank me, I feel a sense of accomplishment and success that I had never felt before. When they see me on a wheel-chair, they realize how I am able to empathize their predicament and hence offer services like no other hotel. I believe that God had a plan for me and he wanted me to go through this so that I can improve the lives of so many others.

With this, Jonathan ended his speech that he was giving on receiving the award of ‘Best Hotel Chain of India’ and he got a rousing, standing ovation from each and every one present there.

2014: #55WordStory Themes - Set 1

Theme: Curiosity

She had two passions in life – writing and film gossip. To pursue these, she applied for the role of a film magazine journalist.

At the interview, the Editor asked her about her biggest strength for this role and her response was: ‘Curiosity to find out what is happening in their lives.’

Theme: Reading

"Pursue your passion and enjoy your hobbies." said the professor on the last day of the graduation ceremony.

"Oh that's easy for me. My passion is the same as my hobby. Reading." said Malini to her friend Beena.

"That's interesting. In my case, it is writing. So I will write and you read." laughed Beena.

Theme: Allure

The dance floor was crowded. Her shining nose ring was the first thing that caught his attention through the smoke from the smoke machines. She turned towards him and her kohl eyes were alluring enough for him to get mesmerized. The sixth drink was enough for him to mistake a mannequin for a beautiful lady.

Theme: Video Game

Shalini was seething with rage and waiting for her husband Rajiv.

Her suspicions made her check the browser history of Rajiv and she found words like 'Infidelity and Sex'.

Rajiv came home with a box of cake and announced 'Honey. Months of hard work has paid off. My new video-game will be called 'Sex & Infidelity'.

Theme: Neck

He felt it on his neck first. He ignored it. He then felt it on his arms and he couldn't ignore it any longer.

He was visiting the same place where he had spent many memorable moments with her and today, when she was not with him, he was getting goosebumps all over his body.

Theme: Quintessence

Salil got his big break when he secured the role of Vice-President in a leading MNC. But he was surprised at the culture of the company, where even Vice-Presidents couldn't have a difference of opinion with the CEO. This was quintessentially coming from the subconscious mindset of Indians due to years of ruling by the British.

Theme: Social Media

I knew I wanted to do something like this. There was always the urge, but wasn't aware of the source. A place where like-minded people could talk on a similar topic but with different perspectives. Social Media got me on Twitter and made me find the #55wordstory theme and have been addicted to it since then.

Theme: Date

The argument was heating up between Sonu and Bhola.

"Mango is the best fruit in the world" said Sonu

"No. Watermelon is the best fruit in the world." argued Bhola

"Let us ask Radhika. She knows better." spoke Sonu

"There is no fruit better than date." said Radhika and walked out of the room casually.

2013: #55wordstory Themes: Week 1

Theme: Illusion

He woke up with a startle.

Was this a nightmare? Or was this real?

Was he really lying on the hospital bed? Or was that also part of a dream that he was still having?

What was reality and what was an illusion was something he had to decipher.

The hash brownies had played their trick.

Theme: Passion

For ten years, she went to the beach every day. She felt the waves talk to her and come close to her, sometimes touching and caressing her body and sometimes teasing and going away. This was pure passion.

She stopped going to the beach, the day she realized that these waves will always go back.

Theme: Children

The first raindrop was enough to send us into a frenzy. Rushing out with our paper boats, ready to jump into puddles without a care about the world. No stress of daily rigmarole nor the rigour of the daily grind. Free spirit and a clean and creative mind.

Childhood was a great stage of life.

Theme: Sand

Ranbir was born with a silver spoon. All his wishes got fulfilled, making him believe that owning everything was his birth right.

When he started dating Radhika, he started getting possessive about her, which suffocated her.

He did not realize that a relationship is like sand – tighter the grip, sooner it goes out of hand. 

Theme: Dust

It was brought home with great fanfare. The entire neighborhood came to congratulate us. Soon, it became an integral part of our lives, with all events happening around it. It was witness to our joy and sorrow over the years.

Today, the black and white TV is gathering dust with no-one willing to buy it.

Theme: Invent

Churning out stories from thin air!

Creating something on a page, where nothing existed moments ago. With every word, a chain is formed. A series of such chains is what leads to a creation. Sometimes the word limit of 55 keeps the chain small. But, if this is not an invention, then what is?

Theme: People

There were hundreds of them. All had come together to show their humane side. Each of them believed that they were a good human being. As soon as they entered the alley, they were greeted with a row of mirrors. Not a single reflection of people. Each mirror reflected a beast, their inner evil! 

Walking through the haze

Where do I start from? The present is muddled up, the past is getting hazier by the day and the future seems to be engulfed in a fog, leaving no chance of any visibility and making one rely on one’s imagination to see beyond that. 

These were the thoughts Ritwik was having as soon as he was asked “Tell me something about yourself” by the interviewer. Not a new question for Ritwik who had given a number of interviews in the last 10 years – not only for a job, but even to the media. 

Ritwik Malhotra had the gift of the gab. Ten minutes after people met him, they would be lapping up things from his hand. A natural charmer was his second name and he knew how to play to the galleries. 

Today, things were different. The simplest of questions was making Ritwik fumble and search for answers. He started off slowly and hesitantly “My name is Ritwik Malhotra. I have been working since the last 10 years and my last job was that of a Category Head with Smith & Baine (S&B), where I was handling their blades and razor segment in their personal care category. “ 

As words started coming out slowly, Ritwik knew that this is not how he starts off. But at that stage, he had no control on what he was saying and he decided to go with the flow. 

“I was with Smith & Baine (S&B) for the last five years. I moved there from A.V. Somani Pvt. Ltd., where I was the Marketing Manager for three years. I was managing their entire skin care range, comprising of three of their large brands – Eternity, Pause and Awe, and New You.” 

“You were seen as a star performer in S&B. With your kind of experience and performance, why did S&B ask you to leave their organization in such a quick and hushed manner?” 

This was the question Ritwik was dreading right from the start of the interview, but it did come up, making Ritwik go livid. He used his calming technique and took a deep breath before looking straight into the eye of the lady who asked him this question. 

“Ms. Dewan, I was not asked to leave the organization. The circumstances had become such that I was planning to quit the organization. S&B got a whiff of what is on my mind and they came up with an allegation and asked me to leave.” said Ritwik with a steely look in his eye, which made the lady a bit uncomfortable. 

A minute of silence followed. 

Once again a series of thoughts flashed across Ritwik. They were not in a set pattern; they were more like a montage of scenes from the last ten years. 

Fashion shows, Niharika Dalal, Achiever’s Award, interviews, flash lights, clubs and parties, wedding, shopping and holidays, legal contracts, business newspaper headlines…. 

“Can you please explain this in detail?”, asked the gentleman sitting on the right. 

“I am sorry but I would not like to talk about this any further than this. The reason that I am sitting here and you are interviewing me is because you believe in my capability, my skills and my talent. All of you giving your time also means that somewhere, you all believe that there is more to this whole controversy than meets the eye. If that is true, then I think we should not dwell on that issue any further and rather talk about what I can do for your company and whether I seem like the right fit or not.” 

“Fair enough, so we will talk on other aspects and let this pass off.” spoke Ms. Dewan once again, acknowledging the nods of the other two gentlemen on either sides of her. 

The montage of shots continued to run in Ritwik’s head and he could not shake them off. He could recollect one of the news articles clearly: 

Ritwik Malhotra, Category Head, Smith & Baine quits S&B suddenly and abruptly. 

It is quite surprising that Ritwik Malhotra, who was seen as a star performer at Smith & Baine, and who was being groomed for more senior roles has suddenly decided to leave the organization. 

Ritwik has been credited for reviving the sagging fortunes of the blades and razor category of Smith & Baine with his innovative and different style of marketing. This not only grew the category in double digits for three years in a row for the first time ever, but also made one of their brands Smoother Me one of the most trusted brands by consumers, featuring in the 10 most trusted brands list for the first time ever since the time of its launch. 

Ritwik Malhotra is married to Niharika Dalal, who was a super model in her heydays. They started dating when Niharika Dalal was signed as a brand ambassador for one of the brands Ritwik was managing – Pause and Awe, while working for A.V. Somani. 

Some unconfirmed reports say that Ritwik Malhotra was asked to leave and his character was questioned by the organization. This is surprising as last year itself, S&B gave Ritwik the Young Achiever’s Award and made him the youngest member of the Board. 

Emails and SMSes sent to both Smith & Baine and Ritwik Malhotra did not elicit any response. 

Watch this space for more updates on this story. 

“So Ritwik, do you think you would be fine working with a company which is 1/5th the size of S&B and hence the brands are also much smaller?”, asked the guy in pin-stripe suit, breaking the train of thoughts of Ritwik. 

“I have never been bothered about the present size of the company. What is most important to me is how big I can make the brands I handle and the company I work for. That is the challenge I thrive on. So you can be rest assured on that front. “ 

“It is good to know that. I think we have asked what we wanted to ask you. Moreover, your work is pretty well known in the industry so we don’t need to know more on that front. We would like to offer you the role of Chief Marketing Officer in our company. I will work out the entire offer and send it to you on your email by tomorrow.” said the HR head sitting on the right. He then extended his hand to shake hands with Ritwik. 

Ritwik thanked each one of them and headed to his car. He was relieved to get a job after the big stories of last couple of months around him. 

At the age of 34, Ritwik had his life set. An extremely stunning wife, youngest Category Head in Smith & Baine, the star of the senior Management Committee, an Audi Q7 in his parking bay in tony South Mumbai and a career that looked headed in the right direction… atleast till the series of events of the last two months. 

It was 2002 when Ritwik had seen Niharika in one of the fashion magazines he was surfing through. He was short-listing magazines to advertise in, for the three brands that he was managing at A.V. Somani. They were looking for a face for their premium skin care brand Pause and Awe, and Niharika Dalal seemed to fit the bill perfectly. She had a lovely jaw line, a great body, fantastic skin and an aura around her personality. Ritwik personally attended a few fashion shows where Niharika Dalal was the show stopper to be sure about her as the brand ambassador. 

A meeting was set up between Ritwik and Niharika through her agent. Both hit it off instantly from their first meeting itself. Ritwik signed Niharika for his brand with a two year legal contract and those were also the two years that he dated Niharika before proposing to her. They got married in a lavish wedding ceremony at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Colaba, attended by everyone from the fashion world and the FMCG industry. 

Ritwik Malhotra had become the poster boy of the FMCG industry after turning out two brands of A.V. Somani into market leaders. This happened when the brands were being written off by the veterans of the industry and it made everyone take notice of him. CNBC did a story on him that led to the CEO of Smith & Baine noticing him and calling him over for a cup of coffee. The coffee resulted in a job offer at S&B as their Category Head. 

While his professional life was on an upward swing, the same was not true of his personal life. His married life was rocky and there were serious compatibility issues between Ritwik and Niharika. They tried to work it out by going on a number of holidays, but it just did not work out. Ritwik and Niharika had been staying separately since the last one year, though they were yet to take a legal course of action. 

Four months back, there was a party to celebrate the highest ever growth year of Ritwik’s category, where he met Irene. Irene had just completed her Masters in Psychology from New York and was visiting Mumbai for a few months. Ritwik’s Thank You speech won him an admirer in Irene. She went across and introduced herself. Ritwik’s natural charm further enamored her and he was also impressed by her intelligence and world knowledge. They exchanged numbers before saying a Good Bye that night. 

Exchanging numbers was a bad decision in retrospect according to Ritwik as he was thinking of these series of events while driving. 

Hey there. How are you? I am super bored. Do you want to catch up for a cup of coffee? Irene Beeped Ritwik’s mobile, while he was sitting in one of the usual presentations. 

It is difficult to overpower temptation and loneliness often forgets rationale. 

Despite knowing the repercussions of this could be bad, Ritwik sent a reply: I am doing very well. Thank you. I am stuck in a meeting at the moment and will get done by 7 pm. How about meeting at the Oberoi Coffee Shop at 9.30 pm today? 

An instant reply came to Ritwik: Done. It is a date then. Shall look forward to an interesting evening J 

Ritwik skipped a heartbeat on reading the message. Not because of excitement, but because of guilt. He knew this was not right as he was still married. 

Ritwik and Irene got along like a house on fire. They both had similar interests – movies, long drives, nice cars and writing. They both enjoyed each other’s company. 

One date was not enough for both. What followed was a series of dates, movies, dinner and also a weekend holiday to Lonavla, where they made love for the first time. It was special with the rains hitting on the window sill, making the outside temperature colder, while the inside temperature continued getting hotter. 

Despite being together for a month and a half, Ritwik had not disclosed one big secret of his life to Irene - he was married. 

One evening, Niharika saw him holding Irene’s hand and enjoying his wine at Aer lounge, the open air lounge at the Four Seasons Hotel and just flew off the handle. Abuses were hurled. Loyalties were questioned. There was lot of bad blood all around. Irene watched all of this shell-shocked. As soon as the scene got over, she just got up and walked off without even having a word with Ritwik. 

Ritwik tried calling Irene a number of times over the next few days but she would just not respond. 

A fortnight passed and Ritwik was still not able to get in touch with Irene. She had also blocked him on all social networking sites. While Ritwik was sending another message to Irene, he was asked to come into Mr. Shroff’s cabin. As soon as he walked in, Mr. Shroff just let it go “You swine! Fucking liar! How dare you play around with the emotions of my girl.“ He caught Ritwik by his collar then and hollered “Despite being married, you went around with Irene and made her pregnant! Irene is my daughter and the apple of my eye and you hurt her. You bastard!”. With this, he slapped Ritwik on his face and asked him to leave his room and not try to get in touch with his daughter again. 

Ritwik was taken aback. Not by Mr. Shroff’s reaction and him slapping him, but with what he had just said ‘Irene is my daughter and is pregnant’. How? He had used protection. Did it tear off? Did he not realize when that happened? Or has there been someone else also in Irene’s life? Why did the name Irene Shroff not ring a bell in his head when they were dating each other? 

Ritwik’s head was buzzing with all these thoughts but he tried to gain his senses to figure out his next steps. He had to leave this organization after all that had happened today as his career in this organization was in jeopardy after this reaction of Mr. Shroff. 

Ritwik came to the office next day with a resignation with him, which was accepted immediately. Mr. Shroff had spoken to HR and managed to convince them that Ritwik’s character was questionable and S&B could not have such a person on their rolls. As the CMD, Abraham Shroff wielded power across functions and across the Board. Being the highest stakeholder in the company further added weight to what he had to say and everyone had to hear that. 

Everyone in the organization was shocked by this sudden development and there were a number of rumours and stories that started doing the rounds. Ritwik just did not have the patience to clarify and correct people. 

All the business papers were busy speculating and talking about this new development in Ritwik’s career and this sudden move, but neither Smith & Baine gave a comment nor did Ritwik reply to the numerous queries that he got. 

Ritwik drove straight to Marine Drive and went and sat on the parapet from where he could see the sea right across, the horizon above the sea – teasing it and the stars in the sky. This was the same place where Ritwik had started dreaming his ambitions at the start of his career. He always wanted to shine like the star above over the city of Mumbai. This was also the place where Ritwik and Niharika had come often, late in the night to escape the shutter bugs. 

This was not how it was supposed to be. Ritwik wanted to get his life back in order. He decided to drive straight to Niharika’s place. He needed someone today more than ever, who could hear him out patiently. He wanted to give it one more shot with her, if she was willing to allow him into her life once again. 

#55wordstory: Themes: Week 9

Theme: Platonic

It was a small seed at first. Too small to even notice. But soon, the roots took their place. With every passing day, the roots grew stronger. Uprooting them now was impossible. This small seed of 'Doubt' grew so big, that it stopped differentiating between physical relationship and platonic friendship and ended a beautiful journey. 

Theme: Noise
Rajeev: "I am buying lots of noise making crackers for my son Sid. After all Shor Na Machaya toh Mazaa Nahin Aaya"

Sail: "That is good but ask him to be careful. I still feel sad for Rahim. After last year's incident, the deafening sound of silence is the noise that bothers him a lot." 

Theme: Angst
It was a momentary lapse of judgment and Rajan's short-temper, which led him to hit Roshita.

She went to another room and closed it to decide her next set of action between her sobs.

The choice was between calling the police or forgiving Rajan.

She decided for the latter by hanging herself from the fan. 

Theme: Brazen
Having always been a topper Derek didn't want to miss it this time either. But this time it was different.

He was caught cheating. Instead of being brazen about it, he broke down. The death of his mother a month back didn't allow him to prepare and his first attempt at cheating had fallen flat.

Theme: Furtive
Sitting at a cafe in Paris, Raul kept giving furtive glances to Lolita while sipping his cup of coffee.

Anyone noticing this would have thought Raul to be shy and not being able to walk across and speak to her.

No one knew that Raul was a detective hired to keep a watch on Lolita.

#55wordstory - Themes: Week 8

Theme: Captive

Salil had visited so many countries, but there was not a single picture to show.

Many people asked him the reason, and his response always was "Nature is meant to be enjoyed with your naked eyes. You cannot make them captives of your lens and think that you would be able to enjoy them later" 

Theme: Free
Rajan invited his secretary Rita for lunch at the Taj and asked her if she would like to get promoted.

“Sure Sir” replied Rita

“But you know Rita, there are no free lunches” grinned Rajan.

Rita knew he was another one of those creeps to be avoided at all costs. She decided to quit soon. 

Theme: Catharsis
As a kid, putting pen to paper was like a catharsis for him. It allowed him to escape to a make-believe world from the stress of his boring life.

But things had changed nowadays, as all the writing was happening through keyboards and screens.

Who had the time to find a pen or a paper?

Theme: Consequences
The liftman closed the lift even after noticing her come.

As soon as he came down again, she shouted and abused him a lot.

He didn't say a thing. Two days later, her body was found with a slit on her neck. She didn't know the consequences of a small incident would be so fatal. 

Theme: Lost
The year was 1995. Rajeev's father had got him a CD player from his US visit and Rajeev wanted to show it off in school.

In all the excitement, he forgot it in his classroom that day. He tried checking the 'Lost and Found' section next day but he knew it was a lost cause. 

Theme: Risque

Shoaib trudged back home after a tiring day expecting another emotionless session at home as usual.

Simar looked different today and was very sweet to Shoaib, surprising him. After dinner, she switched off the TV and called Shoaib to the bedroom.

Shoaib did not notice that the book on Simar's table was '50 Shades of Grey'.

#55wordstory - Themes: Week 7

Theme: Kill
For miles and miles, all one could see was the pure white expanse of snow like a canvas. The mountains stood tall and proud with no hubris or arrogance.
But it all changed 13 years back with blotches of red spoiling the pristine beauty and taking away the silence.
Kargil – something we will never forget.

Theme: Damage
Being teenagers, their emotions were fragile. A trip to the amusement park got her heart in her mouth. The roller -coaster ride made her scream and he laughed at her. The relationship was damaged there and it was a closed case. She was just trying to understand love and all he had was lust for her.

Theme: Envy
Radheshyam's car was getting scratches daily and he reported to the police, who caught Manekchand red-handed.
On interrogation, he revealed his jealousy on seeing the new 32-inch TV of Radheshyam and so he did this.
When police realised the brand of the TV, they had a hearty laugh. The brand was Onida - 'Owner's Pride. Neighbour's Envy'.

Theme: Death
Meera and Sameer exchanged their vows and said “Till death do us apart” amidst friends and family. Theirs was a love marriage after three years of courtship.
Meera’s bad dream turned out to be her premonition when Sameer met with an accident.
The words that rang in her head were: “Till death do us apart”

Theme: Supernatural
Everyone thought that Karim was alone and lonely. He did not think like that. He had an unwanted companion with him for years.
It seemed as if there was some supernatural power that ensured that he was never alone and pain was his constant companion.
Karim longed for solitude, at least without this companion.

Theme: Blue
It was the first art class of the six year olds. The teacher asked them to draw and colour a river.
Everyone except Ameya coloured the river blue. He coloured it black.
When asked, he replied " But madam, I've always seen the Yamuna as black and never blue. My house is on the river bank".

#55wordstory - Themes: Week 5

Theme: Taste

It seemed like a case of murder for robbery, but the autopsy report revealed poison in his blood. The police found no evidence of poison in the house. They didn't check the wall plaster that was coming off. His brother knew he loved the taste of chalk from childhood and hadn't given up as yet. 

Theme: Words

He got into a relationship early in life. It was game of scrabble which led to the initial sparks. What followed was knowing each other more. Love blossomed further while graduating in English Literature. Its been years and they're still going strong. As a writer, today, words are his addiction and his companion for life. 

Theme: Alcohol

Being a car race driver was a thrill and a passion for him. Every win was celebrated with a success party with a glass in hand throughout the evening. Soon addiction took over and now every loss also follows a similar pattern. Only difference is that the word 'success' is missing and he parties alone. 

Theme: Seduction

Ice cubes: Check

Strawberries: Check

Honey: Check

Chocolate sauce: Check

Ragini was pleased with her shopping list. Rajan looked at it and smiled. "I am impressed sweetheart and am looking forward to a night of passion and seduction".

"Oh Shut Up Rajan. This is for the birthday party of our four year old." Rajan sighed. 

Theme: Fight

8.01 am. The fast local to Churchgate was packed. A push here and a shove there was leading to arguments and fights. This was the kind of opportunity Suleman looked for. Picking pockets in such a scenario was pretty easy. He did not know that CCTVs had been installed last night on the Western Line. 

Theme: Possession

While playing, Jhanvi hurt herself. Her mother took her tears in her hand and said "These are pearls. Don't waste them."

Few days later at the mall, Jhanvi innocently went to her mother and told her "Mom. If Papa is not buying you that pearl necklace, please use my pearls that are in your possession." 

Theme: Irony

Growing up in a middle class family with limited means had made Michal stingy. This nature of his caused a lot of stress in his marriage to a girl who liked to live the good life. Michal has changed now and he indulges and pampers himself often. Ironically, this change happened after May left him. 

Theme: Taste

It seemed like a case of murder for robbery, but the autopsy report revealed poison in his blood. The police found no evidence of poison in the house. They didn't check the wall plaster that was coming off. His brother knew he loved the taste of chalk from childhood and hadn't given up as yet. 

Theme: Games

It was raining heavily and Sonu was getting bored. His father made a paper boat in front of Sonu and put it in the puddle. Sonu saw this as an exciting game. When it rained next, Sonu made many boats while his father was asleep. He thought the money in his father's wallet was paper.

Theme: Name

He was being felicitated for his phenomenal work in cancer research and he dedicated his prize to his mother who had succumbed to the dreadful disease ten years back. But even after such success, filling a form that asked for a father’s name made him cringe. Living the life of a bastard was a curse. 

Theme: Bollywood

"Were you a barber in your past life?" asked the brawny actor.

"What? No! I mean how do I know? Why do you ask?" said the famous action hero.

"Because you love using the scissors a lot on the editing table!" said the brawny actor and walked off.

The action hero was stumped and speechless. 

Theme: Distance

Adnan proudly posted his half-marathon pictures on Facebook, and there were 55 comments. Adnan running a distance of 21 km was unexpected. People asked him when his philosophy - ‘Live to Eat’ had changed and how had he managed the weight loss. The word Liposuction was not mentioned even once by him in any comment.

#55wordstory - Themes: Week 4

Theme: Obsession
Fifteen years had passed since they met last. They were inseparable in college. Binge drinking on graduation night followed by the bike ride home turned fatal. Rajeev lost his vision and his love. Today, he knew she was sitting next to him in the flight. He knew that smell. She always wore Calvin Klein Obsession.

Theme: Suitcase
He saw his parents slog for 25 years and letting go off all their joys to pick up a rat-hole in the suburbs of the city that was bursting at the seams. He knew his path since then. When asked, ‘What do you do?’, ‘I'm a vagabond’. ‘Where do you stay?’. 'Always in a suitcase'.

Theme: Wish
The phone beeped once again. Nirvaan rushed towards it. 'Hey dude! Happy Birthday. Have a blast. Cheers!'. Another birthday wish but not the one he was waiting for. Just one message from Ria is all he wished for. When together, they had dreamt and wished for many things. Divorce was surely not one of that.

Theme: Leather
Simran's promotion party at her penthouse was at its peak. Kamini dropped her glass of red wine on the plush white leather sofa at Simran's house. She didn't know that Simran loved animals and never bought real leather. Simran didn't know that Kamini did this because she was the other contender for the same role.

Theme: Mad
At the age of ten, it was evident that she possessed talent that even the 16 year old did not have. After few concerts, she knew this was her calling. Her first album itself was a platinum. She gave the nickname herself when she told her first interviewer "Don't call me Madonna. Call me MAD!".

#55wordstory - Themes: Week 2

Theme: Job

"My job sucks man!" said Divakar while gulping his peg of whiskey. "Yeah man! Crazy hours, pathetic pay and a moron boss" chipped in Tulika. While heading home, they saw an old man without legs, at the signal and Rhea spoke "He is working in this condition, at this hour and we complain our work sucks!"

Theme: Paper

It was his fourth attempt. He tried his best but still found it difficult to manage it. He tried using various books, surfed the Internet to get tips to improve, even asked friends for help and guidance, but the result would just be the same. He never knew writing a love letter would be so difficult. 

Theme: Cafes

I finally got the collage ready. Choosing the best ones from the lot was quite easy. The day I held her hand for the first time, my first appraisal in my career, and my meeting with her parents to ask for her hand. Yes, this was a perfect collage of the memories that I had collected at various cafes.

Theme: Spices

"Why did you kill him?", asked the lawyer. "Because he loved spices." Everyone in the court room were bewildered to hear this. "What are you saying Ms. Dalal?".  She spoke nonchalantly "I caught him in bed with his secretary.  When I asked why he did this to me, he replied 'Variety is the spice of life'."

Theme: Hotel

It was past 2 am and the party ended abruptly. Neighbours had complained and police had landed at the door. People started leaving reluctantly when suddenly the speakers started blaring ‘Hotel California’. Saif wanted to have the last word as this was his success party and Chhote Nawab did it in style before getting arrested.

Theme: Aliens

Krish joined work after a break of ten days. He had taken to seek psychiatric help as he had been dreaming of UFOs since the past few weeks. Today everyone was heading to Blue Frog and asked him to join. Alien Chutney was performing there. He did not want to go anywhere near aliens anymore. 

#55wordstory - Themes: Week 1 (Mar 11 - Mar 18, 2012)

These are my #55wordstory of this week on various themes:

Theme: Wicked

It was the last day of the circus. Two months and not a single day of applause for him. All the applause was for the ring master and all he could manage was a few guffaws and some sniggers. He was sick of being the clown. He had a wicked plan...to open the cage.

 
Theme: Letters

"What will you do now?" she asked him. "I don't know. This is what I have always done. It's not their fault." 

"They fired you from your job of 37 years and you say it's not their fault?" "Times have changed. People dont send letters anymore so what's the use of a postman like me."

Theme: City 

Having an office that gave him the view of the entire New York City from its 105th floor was a dream come true for Rohan. Today was his second day and he was enjoying his cup of coffee, looking out of the window when he saw the plane coming towards him. He was staring at death.

Theme: Bottles

It was the last day of campus life. Two years of late nights, projects, group work, parties, sports, bitching, placements and all the razzmatazz had come to an end. They wanted to celebrate all this with bottles of beer. Only thing they did not know was that their bootlegger in this dry state had been caught!

Theme: Apples

The body was burnt beyond recognition. Police could not establish the identity of the woman found dead. The tea-vendor saw the news and recognized her unique shoes. He approached the police station and told them that she worked at the office which has apples at its reception. There was some questioning to be done at Leo Burnett now.

Theme: Gods and Demons

I started dreaming in the 60s. My dream was to upstage the leader in all the big industries. I started seeing success in automobiles when I became bigger than USA. Soon, I earned the wrath of Gods and Demons and I was struck by earthquakes followed by a terrible tsunami last year. My name 'Japan' soon lost its power.

Theme: Water

In a cruel and ruthless city like Mumbai, this was his only confidant. Happy, sad or depressed, he would find his answers here. 

Always by his side, ready to listen to his pains and anguish and advising him whenever needed. The sea, its waves and the horizon in the distance had its language, which he understood.