SAM

She was walking from one shop to another never buying anything when she saw this mirror. She had seen this face every day from the past 27 years now, but there was something mystical. She was not the prettiest girl in town still she knew she was beautiful. But in this mirror all she could see was a sad face with brown depressive eyes. Why didn’t she notice this earlier? Was she sad? Was she depressed? And why would she be sad anyway? The questions were flooding her mind and she stood still trying to decipher the answer to at least any one of them. It was a long time since she thought about her own life. All she did was to please her parents, relatives, friends… but what about her own self? When was the last time she bought something for herself? When did she laugh or cry for herself? She kept looking at the mirror when she felt someone staring at her. She turned to see an old lady smiling. She said. “I discovered this mirror very late in my life. You are very lucky to discover it so ea...

“Can money buy everything?” he asked innocently. The question seemed to be a mature one from a boy of only five. Chacha smiled at this maturity and replied, “No, money can’t buy everything. It can’t buy love, friendship, or loyalty.” “And God? Can it buy God?” he asked quickly. “Of course not, Sahil,” saying this Chacha went to his work. * * * * * Sahil’s father died while working on a construction site and his mother was the lone earner of his family of four kids. She stitched clothes at night and cleaned dishes at day. Chacha was Sahil’s neighbour and he made gods’ idols for a living. Chacha was a sanitarian with kind eyes and a humble face. He lived with his youngest son who was an alcoholic. His daughter-in-law used to sweep and clean peoples’ home but still they didn’t have enough to feed their 4 sons and 2 daughters. ...

I started to feel the goose bumps all over my body. I don’t know if that was due to the cold that I was feeling since morning or it was because I just heard about Sabina Sehgal Saikia. She is a consulting editor and a food critic in Times of India. She was in Mumbai and got stuck in the situation inside the Taj Hotel. She was continuously sending messages to her family and friends. She was hiding under her bed and had closed the lights of her room. Her last message was a frightening one saying “They are in my bathroom”. After this SMS to her husband no call or message got her reply. Seems just like a movie na? But this is not a movie, this is life! And a tough life I must say. There was never a guarantee card of life, but nowadays it’s not the guarantee of life that matters the most, but it’s the scared feeling of ‘how will we die’ that frightens us the most. We don’t know if we will die in a bus while returning home from the office, or in a train while going to meet our loved ones,...

He woke up when the alarm beeped and sat upright on the bed . He was glad to be on leave. He had made plans for the whole day. He would meet all his friends and have a blast. He was having his breakfast when his phone rang. ‘Hello?’ ‘Is this Dex Carr?’ a stern voice demanded. ‘Yes, I’m speaking. And you?’ ‘It’s your boss,’ the voice fumed. ‘Oh,’ Dex was confused, ‘Good morning sir. I’m sorry I couldn’t recognize your voice. Is everything fine? How did you like my report?’ ‘You call that a report?’ the voice thundered. ‘Come to the office immediately. I think we have serious matters to discuss.’ ‘But sir,’ Dex was helpless, ‘I’m on a two-day leave.’ ‘I don’t care if you are on a month’s vacation. Come immediately or be ready to get fired tomorrow.’ The phone was disconnected. Dex did not know what to do. He had waited so long for this day. But now his job was at stake. He quickly went for a shower and got dressed. Then he opened his briefcase and filled some files in it. ...

The temperature was low enough to be called chilly, still her hands were clammy and beads of perspiration glittered on her bright brow. Zish came into the room and looked at his wife. “ Why are you so tensed, dear? I’m only going a thousand miles away and that too for a few days.” She looked at one of the four moons and then at her child who was lilac in color with pink curly hair and four cute little hands. Qiffy replied, “ I’m not worrying because you’re going, but I’m worried about my child. What will happen to our son if something unfortunate happened to you? And you didn’t even name him yet.” Zish said, “ When I’ll come back I’ll tell you what we shall call him. And nothing will happen to me or my son. Don’t you remember what King Xex said ? ‘ We are the most powerful creatures in the whole universe’ ? Now, you don’t worry abo...