Story of how I craved and got rid of Stubble!

“I’m loving it!” she said as a wild wave lifts us two feet’s in the air.

“And I’m loving you!” I screamed.

For the last thirty minutes we were playing with the waves coming from Arabian Sea. Life had never been so beautiful. It was our first vacations together far away from the chaotic world. I always wanted to go to a place where I would not know anyone but her. A place where I won’t have to care about anything but her. A place that breathes romance. My fascination for beaches took us to Malpe beach near Udupi.

By the time we came out of the water, Sun had changed its color to orange and was slowly settling down at the horizon of Arabian Sea. We sat on the sand near the sea shore. It was white and cold. I wrapped my arm about her shoulder and pulled her close to me. She turned her face towards me and smiled. I looked into her eyes and tucked her hair behind her ears. Her flawless olive skin emphasized her pecan shaped eyes. She looked beautiful! Our lips caressed as we leaned in closer. But before I could have captured her lips in mine, I was pushed back.

“What was this?” I threw my hands in despair.

“What’s wrong with you?” She said as she got up. What’s wrong with me? The most romantic moment of my life had been screwed just now and you are asking me?

“What’s wrong with you?” I asked.

“Do you know what I hate most?” she asked.

“Apple!” I said confidently. Because she doesn't own any Apple product, she started to hate Apple the fruit as she just can't stop loving Mr. Jobs and his innovations.

“I wish it was Apple but unfortunately it is the same thing that you guys are so fondof!” She said as she cleared the sands from her legs.

What guys are fond of? Ok, what I’m fond of? I had to think. There were not many things. A plethora of thoughts succumbed in my brain but still I could think of nothing.

“Our toughness?” I said with a poker face.

“Oh come on. You guys only pretend to be tough but you are not. In fact you all are cry babies.”

Cry baby? Has she lost it? I thought and looked at her quizzically.

“It’s your stubble, I hate most!” She declared.

Shaving is no Fun!

“What is with keeping the stubble?” she asked.

 “I didn’t have the time to shave.” I replied. clean

“Come on! It is about couple of minutes only.” She declared.

“It actually takes more than couple of minutes.” I knew better than her.

Image courtesy- Google images

“You are no Brad Pitt. So stop experimenting and clean your stubble next time onwards. It makes you look dirty.” She said.

Dirty? Hell no! I took a bath before coming to meet you, I’m wearing the perfume you gifted me and I always use hair gel on our dates.  All you noticed is my unshaven face? And by the way it’s the brand new t-shirt that I’m donning, I thought. Though I agree if Braddy and I were participating in Mr. World contest and good looks was the only criterion, at least in this birth I would never win the coveted title. But who cares? You are no Angelina Jolie either.

We used to discuss a lot about the looks. How people dress? What they do to look better? I never hesitated to tell her when she needs to visit a BEAUTY PARLOUR. Was I her fashion consultant? I mean come on, make up is a girl’s birth right. Who would like to have a girl with thick eye brows? At least I don’t. I would never mind my partner spending time and money in Beauty Parlours.

Nevertheless, it was one of the few instances when she asked me to shave though I don’t like completely clean shave look and trust me, shaving is the biggest headache. Ask the people who shave daily. It’s time consuming and boring. There is nothing extra ordinary about it.

Happy New Year

It was breezy Saturday night. Winters had started and nights were colder now. Dark clouds hovered just below the sky. The earth lightens up momentarily as lightening struck the sky. After the lightening it was the time for rain to wet the surface of earth. The dogs start yapping as another lightening struck the sky.

When the rain stopped and watch clocked at 11:50, a motorbike stopped near the junction. A man in his thirties got down and parked the bike at corner of the road. He removed his helmet and wiped his face with a bandanna. He slipped his hand in the pocket of his pants and pulled out a packet of cigarette but to his dismay it was empty! He pulled the bag from his back and checked in its pockets. He found a cigarette rolled in a paper. He unrolled the paper, lit the cigarette and closed his eyes. It was a long and frustrating day in the office though he had waited for this day for a long time. He had goose bumps and couldn't sleep previous night. He was nervous and excited. However, he knew a little that all his efforts were going into the vain and it had left him devastated.

“Take it easy Rahul. It happens!” said Sanjay, his colleague.

“I’m not going to leave him. He will die!” screamed Rahul. He had given his everything to the company. He had worked early mornings, late nights, on the weekends and the least he expected was promotion.

“Come on man. This is not the end of the world.” Sanjay tried to calm his nerves.

Normally a man with soothing and pleasant demeanor, today Rahul was bursting with anger. He wanted to go back into the cabin of his boss and throw him out of the window. He had been overlooked in favor of Ritesh who was coincidentally the nephew of the company’s vice-president.

“I’m sorry man. Better luck next time.” Ritesh winked at Rahul.

He almost smacked Ritesh into his face before being stopped Sanjay.

A bright light and a boisterous sound forced him to open his eyes. A fast moving heavy truck was headed in his direction. The truck gained more speed as the distance between them reduced.

Eclipse of love- My entry for the Get Published contest

Idea-

Being in a relationship was never a new thing for him. For her relationship meant a bond for lifetime. Essence of love was unknown to him. For her love was a quintessential thing. Meet Rahul and Ira, best friends of sort who were so different yet so similar. Both were narcissist minus egoistic. For them marriage was the biggest life event. And of course they believed in arranged marriages. Not to fall in love before marriage was their thumb rule.

They say rules are mean to be broken and a twist of fates made them break their rule. They were in love, not by choice but by kismet. Rahul fell in love with Ira. Did Ira fall in love too? Yes, she did but it was not Rahul and it tore apart the Rahul’s world. Just when everything looked bleak and gloom fate changed ends again. Ira was back in Rahul’s life. Gradually they settled in their professional and personal lives and world around them was almost perfect. But as it goes, falling in love is easy but to endure in love takes more than what you expect. Love brings lot of challenges with itself. Biggest of them is to keep the essence of friendship. When it starts to disappear, it’s the high time to wake up.  

Rahul and Ira were going through one such phase. It was not late when distrust replaced trust and expectations changed along with priorities. To add more gloom to it Ira moved to a new city, some thousand kilo meters away. And if it was not enough Rahul’s parents mounted the pressure on him to get marry, of course to a girl from his own caste.

Did Rahul meet Ira again? Were they ready to move into long distance relationship? Did Rahul confront his parents? What about Ira? Did she still have the same feelings for Rahul? Did they find their lost friendship?

What Makes This Story ‘Real’ - Falling in love is easy but to stay in love confronting all the hardships makes a relation work. In today’s world priorities changes in a blink of eye. You not only have to fight the world outside but also how you deal with changing expectations of your partner and yourself eventually decides fate of the relationship.

Extracts-

That evening I realized what was her connotation of love. Abruptly her sleep broke and she looked for me in the room.

“Rahul.” She whispered.

She turned towards me as I was about to respond. I smiled and waved my hand. It brought a smile on her face too. She went into kitchen, took her coffee and came to balcony. She came near and we kissed.

“I slept.” She said cutely rubbing her head against my shoulder.

I wrapped my hand over her shoulder and she leaned her face on mine. I kissed on her forehead. It was the most beautiful evening I ever had.

  

Endnote: This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs from Yashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

P.S. If you like the idea please take a minute and vote here- Eclipse of Love . Thank You!! J J

Maskman! The finale..

                                 SECOND PART                FIRST PART

The biggest problem with this mask-man theory is that it stops you from trusting the people around you. It almost forces you to believe that people are not being real to you. They have been secretive, hiding their other side, the real them from you.

“I don’t want to reveal my weakness to all the people, people whom I don’t trust. They might use it against me.” She said.

“Neither do I!” I said.

“If I’m not sharing something with someone, it doesn’t mean I’m masked. It means I’m just being cautious.”

The thing which I had always liked about her was her practicality. I may not be practical all the time. I love to live in my own world. I don’t always take decision based on practicality. On the other hand she always looks at the practical feasibility of the things. One corner of my brain was occupied by these thoughts when she was discussing with me about the masquerades. It was like she read my mind. She knew what I was thinking, about her and about myself.

“Why makes you so surreal?” She asked.

Surreal? I had to think. Was I being unreal? May be I was. But it was not the real me. May be the mask that I was flaking made her think that I was unreal.

“May be the negativity around me makes me unreal.”

I meet many people daily, in my office, at my home, on the road and invariably almost all of them carry a wave of negative energy around them. The air around me was full of negativity. At times I felt I was inhaling more negativity than the oxygen. It had left me frustrated and devoid of calmness. May be it was the reason I was shedding a mask and was being unreal. I was in need of oxygen, the positivity. I wanted to come out of the web of negativity.

Maskman! Is it so tough being real?..

Previous Part

It all started the time I woke up that morning. I quickly prepared tea, took news paper and headed towards terrace. I usually don’t read newspaper but I like to hold it in my hands. Winters were just starting and they had a positive impact on the sun-rays  they were calm! I leaned against the wall and looked on the roadside. I saw kids with their mothers waiting eagerly for their school buses to arrive.

They were jumping and screaming and the ladies were all smile, a pleasant sight. It reminded me of the days when I was a kid. It was a good start to a day but I forgot that the day had just started and had no idea that I was going to drained by the end of the day. Nevertheless, few minutes later I was inside the room, it was time to get ready for the office.  

“I’ll come with you today.” My roommate said.

“Sure but the bike is punctured. I’m taking an auto.” I grinned.

“Is it? Then I shall leave. I’m getting late.” He said and left hastily.

I could do nothing but look at him closing the doors. We were supposed to go together, I thought.

“What did you make of it? Your roommate was wearing a mask that time?” She asked again.

“I don’t know. May be he was or maybe I was thinking too much.” I replied.

“He might be in a hurry.” I added.

Our past always has an impact on our present, my manager told me after I reached office. He told me how he moved up the ladder, how he thrashed his competitors. His team was the best in business, always on the top. And of course he told about his expectations from me, they were high!! It appeared he wanted me to listen to him. He wanted me to reciprocate what he did for me. What he did for me? He recruited me but that was it. It was only me since then and not him. And he was reckless who never cared for his colleagues or juniors but for him.

Love Strings- 2

PREVIOUS PART

Varun stood near the sea shore after Pavan left. Dark clouds had started to gather under the sky and slowly the light was fading away. But they didn’t bother Varun, as they reminded him of the evenings he spent with Ananya. The memories were so beautiful that it was impossible for him to forget Ananya but everything. As he walked down the shore, he took a stroll down memory lane.

“Give me two.”  Varun said to coconut water vendor.

image courtesy- google images 

The vendor quickly chops the coconuts in two halves and hand them over to Varun. He picked them, paid money and leisurely walked on the soft sand. It was dark by now and tides coming from Arabian Sea were striking the shore the hard. People from all parts of India visits Malpe beach. It is one of the most beautiful beaches in this part of the country.

“You want to drink both?” Ananya asked from behind.

“I bought two coconuts and two straws.” Varun turned and smiles. He gave one straw to Ananya and walked close to water. They sat on the soft sand and stretched their legs towards the sea. Splashes of sea water, pleasing sound of waves, glistening moon and gleaming stars left no stone unturned in making it the most beautiful evening. The water and sand were cold alike. It was full moon and romantic.

“Why do you take me out in moonlight always?” asked Ananya staring at the moon.

“It builds an aura around you. It makes you look angelic.” Varun smiles and placed one coconut over the sand and put the straw in another coconut in his hand. He asked Ananya to put her straw in the same coconut but she snatched it from his hands. He put his palms under her palms and looked into the sky as the sand under his legs glittered. Shining stars were dazzling beneath the moon. The night had become more so beautiful.

Love Strings- I

“Ok, so tell me again why the hell we’re on the sea shore at two in the afternoon!” Pavan reiterated.

Pavan was helping his priest father in decorating the temple when he got an SMS from Varun. He wanted to meet Pavan immediately. Locales of Udupi, a town situated near the coastline of Arabian Sea in the south-west state of Karnataka, Varun and Pavan were childhood friends. They were working in a multinational software firm in Bangalore and were visiting their native to celebrate Makara Sankranthi. However, reason to come home was not exactly the same for Varun.

"I need your advice." Varun replied after much thinking.

"Go on."

Varun sighed and looked the water drenching his feet's. Meanwhile Pavan got up and waited patiently for the reason.

"I think I have reached a state of breakthrough, I can almost feel it." Varun said as he also got up.

“And what shall I make up of it?”

“She definitely wants me back and I need your opinion.”

“God! Not again. It is over! Listen buddy, she dumped you. She made it clear when she returned everything that you gifted her.” Pavan said angrily.

Varun was still in shell shock. After being in a relationship for longest time, Varun had broken up with his long time girl friend Ananya. Varun had loved her ever since he had first seen her on his first day at the college. Ananya’s ability to think bitchy along with her great looks and a penchant to throw parties made her in every sense a true MEAN GIRL. Every girl in the college wanted to be like her and every boy wanted to be with her. Varun was no exception. Like everyone, he too fell for her when he first saw her. And it was not late when he asked her for a coffee and it marked the beginning of a most remarkable chapter in Varun’s life.

MaskMan! why do people wear masks ??..

Down in dumps I took my seat. The day was long, so exhausting. I could think of nothing but resting my overcooked body. I didn’t want to meet any one. I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t want to smile. All I wanted was to close my eyes and question him, the GOD, why? Why he created the world? A world that has no place for truth! What prompt him to create a place where human acts pusillanimously? Why is there a place for lie? Why can’t people be just real? Where has the authenticity gone?

image courtesy-  gaurdian.co.uk

I was deeply immersed in my thoughts when she snapped her fingers. I turned my face slightly to look at her.

“What is that you hate about people?”  Hate about people? I didn’t have to think much. I knew the answer. It was same thought that had been meddling with my head since morning. It was something that I had always hated in the people I interacted with. I put the Q & A with the almighty on hold and moved further to look at her.

“What?” I wanted to hear the question again before answering. May be I needed a moment to frame the answer correctly.

“What about the people that you hate?” She repeated and closed the window. It started to drizzle as soon as the train moved.

“They wear masks.” And I replied.

Back again!! Thank you Indiblogger..

And here I’m back again after a break of two months, an unwanted break. Last time, I was almost forced to take the break. Job switch and relocating to a new city were really exhausting. When I wrote after the break I was thrilled to be back on blogosphere and decided that I would never take such a long break again. But then when do the things go as per the plan? They never go as planned, at least not in my case. And again I went on a sabbatical for another two months. Oh Yes! I missed writing a lot.

Nevertheless, the reason was simple. I ran out of ideas. I didn’t know where to start? As they say, it’s not certain that when one would come out of the writer’s block. I too was waiting to come out of it all these days. As it has been the case for all these days, a couple of weeks back I decided to write and opened my laptop and again couldn't manage to write a word. It disappointed me and left me with a doubt, a doubt on my abilities.  I closed the Microsoft word and decided that I would not write a word until I feel like writing. And also it is my sisters marriage in next few days. And it has made me realized that I have grown up. Gosh!! hell lot of work. However, I can’t write just for the sake of writing. It’s not a job after all. And just when everything looked gloomy, I received an e mail, an e mail from INDIBLOGGER with a subject line -  “Congratulations - you're a runner-up in the "Love Marriage ya Arranged Marriage" contest!”

Astonished "NISHA"

Astonished "Nisha"

Her heels are making terrifying sounds as she moves swiftly. On her way she strikes into something unknown. It is dark! She couldn’t see anything. She stops when she hears a sound unknown. Frighten and horrify, she slowly turns her body. Next moment; it is brightness all over again as everyone says “Happy birthday Nisha.”

P.S. My first attempt at 55 fiction :) 

Love ya Arranged? For me it is..

“I can’t marry someone whom I have met only once or may be twice.”

“Love marriage obviously but I’m afraid if my parents would second my thoughts.”

“Love marriage is the way to go!”

“Arranged marriage sucks!”

I’m sure most of us would have heard these lines many a times. Love marriage vs Arranged marriage, it is easily one of the most talked about topic. Almost every one of us would have found ourselves as a part of this never ending discussion at least once. It’s a common topic of discussion among the most happening breed of people in our country- “ BACHELOR’S.” So, what conclusion you drew once the discussion is over? Love marriage? Ok, at least 70-80 percentages of us have seen the people around us favouring Love marriages over their counterpart, right?

If you ask me, almost every time this debate (Yes, a debate! We don’t do discussions in India. Be it parliament or a group discussion for interview, we only do debates) end with a result tilted more in favour of love marriage. They say love marriages are made in heaven. Ahh.. so cute no? God, himself has found an angel for me. I’m what? Son of god?

I would like to share a small story before moving further. I have this friend who got married around two years back. Theirs was a love marriage. They met during our MBA days (We three- me, my friend and his wife were classmates). It was not late when they fell in love. Soon, both of them decided to leave the hostel and moved into a separate two room flat together. They were happy because now they were able to spend more time together. And I was fumed because he didn’t have any time for me now.

A story!

“At what time you would be back?” Aditi asked Sameer.

“It’s Friday! I would be back early. When would you be back?” said Sameer as he starts his car.

“I’ll be late, have a meeting at the end of the day.” Replied Aditi and waved her hand to say good bye.

Sameer met Aditi few years back and they fell in love instantly and it was not late when they got married. Love at first sight! Theirs was not a fairytale love story but they fell head  over heels in love with each other.

“Did he really forget?” thought Aditi as she closed the doors.

It was their marriage anniversary. They had always celebrated it on a grand scale. But today none of them wished the other. Aditi had planned a big surprise for Sameer. She had taken an off from the work. Yet, she expected Sameer to wish her. She was upset but then off late Sameer was extremely engaged in his work. Though he never talks about it but pressure was on his head from every corner. He always pretended that black is white. Aditi knew about it.

She spent the all day in decorating the house and preparing the dishes. By the time she finished, it was five in the evening. She took a quick shower. She opened her wardrobe and selected a purple spaghetti dress that she bought recently.

EtErNaL lOvE..

Jason looked into his watch and got up from the bed. He went near the window and opened the curtains. He looked outside through the window. It was dark. He opened it and a cool breeze caressed his face. He stood there for few minutes and was still looking outside when a faint smile appeared on his face. He closed the window and came back to his bed. He looked at the watch again as he took it into his hands. He sighed as his head fell. He got up and took a quick shower.

It was nine in the morning when the first ray of Sun made its way to the earth after hustling with the gloomy family of clouds all through the morning. Clouds slowly begun to disappear and a bright rainbow emerged on top of them. Winters were finally here!

‘Add two more roses to it’ Jason said to the flower man.

‘It will cost twenty more’ Flower man said as he added two more roses to the bouquet.

‘Do it!’  Jason said and paid him the money. He looked at the beautiful bouquet once again and begun to walk. It was Samantha’s birthday. Her love for roses was legendary! It was more famous than any movie actor in their college. She had declared it on every possible occasion.

Despite being friends and in the same class for four years, it was only during their last days at college when Jason and Samantha realised that they are not just friends..!!   

On Samantha’s birthday previous year Jason had proposed her for marriage.

I'm aLiVe!! I WaS NoT DeAd EiThEr.... :)

Excited!! Really excited!! Finally I’m writing, writing after a long time, after two months precisely. It was really tough to not write anything for such a long period. Oh dear, I missed it badly!! Ever since I started blogging (though it’s been barely five monthsJ), it has become one of the most important facets of my day to day activities. And to take a break from writing only after couple of months is a sin. Come on! I deserve to be penalized. Moreover it affected my Indirank (It is down by 5 points!! L).

And hence arise the big question-   What was I up to all these days?

Well, many things happened. First of all I fell in love again. Yes, again! It happens way too frequently. It was one sided love is a completely different story altogether. Than all of a sudden an urge to explore southern India made its way into my heart and my mind (They tend to work on same frequency- my heart and mind). And I did go to few places- Ooty (2^nd time), Waynard, Hogenakkal, Bandipur, Manipal. A thought came in my mind to write a blog on my experience like many bloggers do in their travel diary. But almost immediately I realised that I’m not apt for travel diary.

I went home to give my Mom and Dad a surprise on their marriage anniversary and for them it was the best gift and it was enough of a reason for me to feel proud. We celebrated the occasion in a big way. Lovely memories!!

And when I decided to come back to writing I got an offer, a job offer. And with the new job my stay at Bangalore came to an end. It was very tough to bid adieu to Bangalore. I’m insanely in love with the city. I had spent four years of my life here, four best years. It has given me uncountable things. I made new friends and met few oldies. I got my first job and first pay check here. It introduced me to pubs! I will never forget Purple Haze. It will be on my high priority list whenever I would go to Namma Bengaluru next time. Yes, my heart broke here. Those were the four toughest month of my life. Not easy when you have to join your first company barely few days after breaking up after years of relationship. But again it was the same city that helped me to overcome.

Anyway, now I have left Bangalore and moved to New Delhi. “Don’t go to Delhi, it’s very hot there” people said. And I agree, it indeed is very “HOT” !!.. It’s been only five days since I landed in the city and I’m already in love with it. Yes, I’m missing Bangalore and friends but on the other hand I’m overwhelmed by the response of my old friends who are in Delhi. Feels great when there are so many people who love and careJ.

So the bottom line is- I will write more frequently and definitely will not take a break of two months again. I just wish people who are following my blog and who were regular readers of my stupid fictional stories would again come back and read them. I hope I would do a better job this time.

Guys, I’m Alive!!!!.....  J J

Life is Short & Time is Swift - 2

‘Bye!’ Rahul smiled as he pressed the accelerator. He stopped at the corner of the road to get last glimpse of Tanya. He waived his hand. She blew the smallest kiss and smiled broadly as Rahul disappeared in the relentless darkness of night.

Rahul and Tanya were the sweetest couple in world. They were the most happening couple. Every day was an occasion for them. They always look for reasons to celebrate and when they don’t find any, they celebrate for no reason. It was their way of living life. It helped that their brains work on the same frequency.  Life is short and one can’t afford to waste it. Time is swift! One has to catch up with it, it doesn’t wait for anyone.

Soon Rahul reached home. He called Tanya to inform that he reached home like every day without any hiccup. It was an important task which he could not afford to miss. He had missed once and was almost killed by Tanya. She had gone bonkers! Ever since Rahul met with an accident while driving back home, she never compromised on it. After hustling with the TV remote for few minutes, he switched off the TV. He flipped through the pages of his favourite sports magazine but didn’t read anything. For some reason he had a bad feeling. He didn’t know what was it and what was it about? But he just had it. However, he decided not to strain his brain and give it much needed rest. He switched off the light, slipped under the blanket and closed his eyes. He knew Tanya would be waiting for him in the dreams and he didn’t want her to wait more.

EarthquakE; WheN ThE EartH ShooK!

‘I have never seen Tsunami, I want to see it live!’ A woman said when police was trying to evacuate the famous Marina beach at Chennai after the Tsunami alert issued by Indian government yesterday afternoon. ‘At the office! Experienced the earthquake for the first time J.’ Declared an old classmate on his Facebook wall. ‘Are we really nearing the end of the world?’ Questioned another friend on his wall.

As soon as I opened my eyes after a long sleep yesterday afternoon I felt my eyes hazy and head spinning. I informed my roommate about the same. He advised me to sleep for few more hours before leaving for office. He left for office after advising me. I was still on bed when I received an SMS from another roommate- ‘Tremors in Bangalore! Did you feel them?’ After reading the SMS I realized that I might have just experienced the first ever earthquake of my life. I switched on the TV and shocked by the news of Tsunami alert. I kept changing the news channels in pursuit of more news.

SplasheS Of LovE

I was strolling down the shore. Moon was gleaming on the water. It was a beautiful night with full moon. I was in awe of the moon that alone had outshined the uncountable scattered stars. Waves were making the pleasant sound as they were touching the shoreline one after another. A tender breeze from ocean was caressing my body. Ambience was dominated by the glittering sand, soothing breeze and moonlight.

I sat on one of the rocking chairs fixed on the sand facing the ocean. I lifted my face to look at the moon. ‘God must be in a romantic mood when he created the moon.’, I thought. It was beautiful. I looked at the ocean as a small wave splattered few drops of water on my legs.

 Beautiful beach- beautiful ocean- beautiful moon- beautiful ambience. It was all extremely beautiful.

I was in a dreamland. Everything was vivid. I got so fascinated by it that I was left unsatisfied with beauty. I wanted more! I turned my face left and then right in a quest for more beauty. I couldn’t find any! I got disappointed. I looked down in agony and struck the sand with my leg and then the sand was in the air next moment. It was flying away from me gently. Suddenly, I saw something between the droplets of sand. It was not visible clearly. I brushed the sand aside with my hands. Still, I was not able to look at it. I left the chair and stood up. Now I saw it moving. I moved towards it. It moved away from me, towards the ocean. I moved faster. It stopped! Distance between us lessened. It slowly turned towards me. I stopped and hold my breath. My heart refused to beat. That was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. No, it was not a thing. It wasn’t an illusion either. I knew, I was in love the moment I saw her. Yes, it was a girl. She came close to me. She holds my hand in hers. I looked into her eyes, big and mysterious! My eye’s followed my heart’s route. They refused to blink. There was complete silence, only a slow and serene breeze with the splashes of water was blowing.

AlwayS Your'S....

‘What you keep thinking.’ she asked leaning over me. I looked at her and caught her eyes shimmering. Her big and bright eyes never fail to make me feel high.

I sighed and looked outside the windshield. After few seconds I turned back towards her and took a deep breath. It is almost difficult to take eyes off her perfectly shape face.

‘An attempt to look into the future.’ I said caressing my fingers against her face.

‘What did you see?’ She lifts her face to look at me and stroked my hairs with her fingers.

‘You will see it at the right stroke of time but everything looks crystal clear when you are with me’ I said and intertwined my fingers with her.

A faint smile appeared on her lips. It’s been one year when I told Tanya that she is the one I waited for eternity. I had never thought that I would be able to tell her. She is a magnet. She pulls everyone. When she talks, she doesn’t stop until her throat dries. Every boy in the college had a crush on her. How could I be an exception? But for me it was not just another crush. I fell in love with her when I first saw her. It is impossible to not fall in love with her.

LovE @ OfficE

People argue when I tell them that I’m a night person.

‘Working in night shifts doesn’t make you a night person.’ They would say. I agree. In a country like India thousands of people work in night shifts and for many such people their job is unpleasant. It Sucks! But I don’t become a night person when I started to work in night. I always was! I don’t like getting up early. I never woke up early in morning to prepare for exams. I always used to miss early morning classes in college. Moreover my productivity decreases exponentially in daytime and increases manifolds at night.

‘I love working in night’ I said and sat on the sofa.

‘I don’t have an issue either’ Febin said.

It was midnight. We were at the cafeteria on a coffee break. As it was a Friday night, most of the employees were relaxed. Cafeteria was unusually crowded. Four more hours and weekend would kick off. Soon we finished our coffee and unhappily got up from the sofa. As we were moving towards the lift I saw Febin’s eyes flickered back and forth. I looked in the direction he was looking. I saw a girl. She was talking on mobile.

LovE Doesn'T FeaR

As the day was passing, it was becoming more difficult for Sun to maintain the intensity. It is not easy to sustain against dark forces and Sun was no exception that day. Dark and intimidating clouds hovered around it. After indulging in a battle for ages, Sun, the most powerful force of Universe was over powered by the most threatening force. Blue sky was replaced by dark clouds. They were immovable.

‘I’m sure you don’t want to dislocate your intestines’ Tanya said raising her left eyebrow, her favourite gesture. She does it all the time.

NoT JusT AnotheR MorninG....

It was early morning. The Sun yet to get warm had brought an end to relentless darkness of night. First rays of Sun announced the arrival of a new day. It had just made a grand entry at the horizon. Fine and cold sand beneath my legs glittered as glistening sunrays made the first contact with it. As I walked down the shore, a half crushed shell struck my foot. I bent down and picked the shell. Like the sand it was also cold. I looked around and there were many of those. Some of them were crushed by the Seagulls. They had already started their quest for food.

I moved close to the edge of shore and a tiny wave softly crashed on my foot. They say water in Arabian Sea is clean and clear when compared to Bay of Bengal but it was an exception there. Sea water flowing from Bay of Bengal was clean and shimmering under the effect of sunrays.

I stood there and was looking at the horizon unrelentingly. I was still holding the half crushed shell in my hand.

‘Do you ever put your bag down?’ asked Tanya as she took over the ownership of shell by almost snatching it from my hand. An old habit.

‘It’s my travel buddy’ I smiled.

A 'Walk' down memory lane..

I looked at the sky. It was hazy. Moon was playing hide and seek game with the scattered clouds, they should have no business today as it was a full moon. I was eagerly waiting for those wispy clouds to disappear and beam of moon to cover the entire ocean.  The sand underneath my feet glitters whenever Moon moved away from the clouds. Sand was soft and fine. It was a beautiful night. Could have been more beautiful had Clouds stopped playing the chasing game with the Moon.

I was at a beach, Malpe beach. It is one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. It was not the first time I was at a beach, I had been there before. Pondicherry (Puducherry now) holds the owner of introducing beaches to me.

As I walked down the shore I took a stroll down memory lane.

Life is 'Short' & 'Time' is Swift

I checked the time in my mobile. It was four in the evening. I was just waked up on yet another Saturday evening. My weekend start on Saturday evenings as I work in night shifts.

I got up and made calls to my roommates to check the plans for evening. As it happens most of the times all of them had prior commitments. It helps to have a girlfriend. It makes sure that weekend is not wasted.

‘Another weekend wasted.’ I thought.

I got down from the bed, brushed my teeth’s, took a quick bath and craved in front of god to get me a girlfriend.

‘How long I’m going to be single?’ I questioned him and closed my eyes.

As I was reading the Gayatri Mantra I heard a voice.