Avik's Story

It was a sunny day. The light reflected from the white house at neighborhood had brightened this house too; and the light fell on a face. A sleeping face, so serene that I could’ve watch it forever. Just watch; or maybe a gigantic wish to touch it. But I knew that was not to be done. The face was pretty and tranquil, and with that white light on it, it was a sort of a beautiful expensive art; but as I knew the owner of the face, she was no artist. She was a vandalist. If I dared to touch her face, or hair or even the water bottle while she was sleeping, she’d start a tantrum. Her morning usually started with a wrecked wiggle, which lasted for good thirty minutes and occasional whining, whose veracity was always difficult to establish. Our thumb rule – if no tears, then nothing to fear - she was probably faking it. But wait. Sometimes her tears flew down so easily and so believably that I wondered she must’ve trained her eyes. She’d be sitting on her blanket with water bott

We have a sort of song. Kind of a crude song only for us. A song detailing the beginning of a journey, which was impossible at sight, but nevertheless it happened. But that story is different – to be told with a cup of smoked coffee, in a room under grey sky and thousand stars, preferably beside a wayward river. Maybe I will sing that song over guitar and let you humming on that night. But today let me tell you a secret. That I know she loves me. Don’t laugh. We are married, but we never took vow to be together. We never uttered those magical three words. We don’t know how it started, and we have absolutely no idea, when it will end. But we are best friends for last eight years, married for five years and a parent for last three years! Life has changed so much. Time has changed from a sip of vodka on a slippery tram-line in Kolkata to a bottle of unknown wine in a private beach in Mauritius under moonlight and before vast ocean. And yes, we have changed. But still I had t

My little car got some deep scratch on side door and it was in body-shop for last five days. I rode a paddle-rickshaw and the puller was a lean young chap, hardly crossed twenty. I had to catch metro, like old days and spend an hour among strangers, unchartered body-odours and tiny interesting stories. The rickshaw went straight, crossed the bazaar and turned the round island - structured recently and took the road towards metro station. I could see the station at distance, and all kinds of cars, e-rickshaws or paddle rickshaws lined up in front of the entry, and then suddenly the young rickshaw puller screamed, ‘look, look, Africans!’ It took me some time to get into what he was pointing at. I saw nothing except large apartments and a school at one side and a high risen metro line at another. I narrowed down further. I followed the gaze of the young chap, who was clearly amused, as his teeth were outside and eyes were fixed towards a group of people, who were buying milk from

It was dark. The sudden roaring of speedy motorbikes with screeches around the corner came through the glass window like thunderbolts and except that, there was nothing. Total silence. The ceiling was slanted towards the window and the curtains were moving slowly with wind. Faint whitish light fell through the glass. It was star-lights – coming from billions of miles away. And there was a slow but steady sound of breath. Sufi – the little girl was awake on her bed and didn’t know what to do. She tightly held her water bottle and searched for her blanket. It was somewhere on the bed. But she couldn’t find it. She did wake up suddenly in the middle of night, and found her blanket gone, water bottle slipped from her mouth and the room dark. She looked at the window and saw nothing except few stars above – way up high – blinking in a black sky. She turned her head away from the window and found a dark figure breathing slowly on her side. She knew the source. Her nanny was on the

I can’t make friends Making friends is an art, and well, you’re fucked up in that. But have you ever thought why you can’t make friends? Probably, you’ve not found any similar intelligent companion like yourself. They’re rare. And silly talks bore you. I’m easily frustrated You do things, and sometimes you don’t win. Okay. But then why your face has this dead-pan expression for days after you lose? Like you’ve lost everything! Frustration may come from your trust on your intelligence. So when you get bumped up, you can’t believe that. I don’t like changes You follow your routine. You like a specific color or specific type of dress. Your mornings are no different than others. Well, you love discipline, and loath changes. Your subconscious mind doesn’t want to share the precious intelligence for these non-productive actions. There’re better things to do. Like deciding which movies to watch this week. I hate social gatherings You’re nor a ta

A 60 years old gets slapped by slippers a whopping twenty-five times. His glass was broken, his shirt was torn, his psyche was traumatized forever and he was threatened to be thrown away from flight. But why? Because he was doing what he was supposed to do. He was a station manager and was pacifying a passenger. It was part of his job. Then? Well, he didn’t pay heed to the fact that the passenger was an M.P. People of India elected him so that he be pampered, worshipped and be considered as a demi-god. Sometimes, more than a god. Really? Of course. See what happened after the slipper-slap. The MP boasted about his hit before media, his beard shone like a winning gladiator from arena, and prospective politicians like him planned to do something similar next time. He’s now a god-damn role model. Did he apologize? Well, he tried. But, he’s from a party, which never apologizes. They force others to apologize. It’s just their party policy. And people

A study says that it takes only a moment to transform the gloomy and sad faces of ours into gleaming and beaming ones, that can keep us up for the rest of the day. That’s the power of a moment. I was beyond grief. I was leaving my daughter, who became my partner-in-crime and playmate for the last one month; and my wife, whose claim to be immaculate and matured was repeatedly rubbished by me and proved to be true. She actually was no better than her two & half years old daughter. At airport, I paid 250 Mauritian bucks just for a glass of beer and a tiny bottle of water and sat across a trendy counter. I opened a Sashi Tharoor book and started browsing its pages, until the time came to proceed towards boarding gate. A long queue already formed. I could see people everywhere - happy from wonderful vacations in a wonderful land – chatting, laughing and holding hands. I was the single most down face in an ocean of cheering crowd. And then it started. My economy se

The moment I noticed Taniya at airport, I smiled. A medium stretch of lips with a twitch of cheek muscles. It was my favourite smile. Neither artificial, nor core to heart. It was a perfectly articulated smile with varied interpretations, and at that point of time, when Taniya came over and hold my hands like old days with glittering eyes and one hand in mouth, it surely meant, ‘Look at me. I finally manage to surprise you’. She noticed my black new suits, black shoe, purple tie, new spec and gelled hair. I knew I looked different. Polished. And she looked a diva. Women look better when they’re surprised. The sky was blue and the ocean like a blue topaz. The island was known to me. The roads, little trees and faraway mountains and the white house at the corner. Familiar shops and faces. And then a little girl in blue frock ran towards me. I dived my nose into her neck and closed my eyes and smelled her. She smelled rose and strawberry and some unknown flowers. She held me tight and

This was very first time, I was blacked out. Next day, when I woke up I was having throbbing headache, sore throat, aching stomach and a clinching urge for water. I was lied upside down on my bed, over my laptop and books, my phone was constantly ringing somewhere and I felt nauseated. I ran to bathroom and leaned onto the toilet. I knew, it was beginning of a rough day. And it was the first day of a year. Brand new year. I had plans. A good start and good moments with friends. I hated myself for ruining that. I remembered last night - the trance lights, the crazy dance moves, the vodka and a live stage. People were euphoric. They were celebrating. A year was on edge, and another year was on verge. I remembered four of us were having good time. We were chatting, eating and drinking. Pretty girls were everywhere. Their smiles and skins glowed in neon lights, even in dark. Smart bearded guys proudly held them, as if they were their prized possessions. It was a packed room, th

Winter is my favourite, though I don’t want it.  And finally, it’s here. All the girls are covered in colourful sweaters, jackets and dresses; guys are in full sleeve leatherette brown or black jackets; whitish fogs are smothering the sleepy walkers, who’re still walking dead from forced wake-up; shopkeepers sip hot fuming tea while gazing lazily from their empty counters. But most of all, the air.  Chilled, piercing and fresh from last night’s mist. My face tissues gradually adopt with cold. I rub my palms and then press against cheeks, like my mother used to do when I shivered after having a cold bath in morning in school days. Again I’ve been transferred. Now far from my place. Again I’m standing in corner of a metro coach for hours with a book in my hand and music on ears. My foamed jacket brushes with others. My eyes meet with others for a second. They greet in silence.  Sometime a twitching smile on lips, sometime nothing. Total blankness. Someone’s smartphone plays a