One Hour

(An immaculate living room. An old grandfather’s clock stands at one corner. A man of about thirty-five, paces around the room, holding a lit cigarette in one hand. Takes a puff once in a while. He looks from door to clock and from clock to door every once in a while. Clock strikes eleven. Man [...]

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Subhadraharanam – Part II

In part one ‘He is a playboy’, he had said, shaking his head. ‘Such genius but such vice! Too many women. He lives his life on the edge’. ‘Poor Arjun’, Krishna observed. ‘He did not take that failed love affair lightly’. Sympathy was like a weed. It could grow through the tiniest of cracks on [...]

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Subhadraharanam – Part I

There was that half-smile that lit up his face. She could not ignore it. It made him look over-confident, even arrogant. But she could not forget it. She should never have gotten the door. He stood outside, his tall figure bent, as he removed his shoes and put it on the shoe rack. He was [...]

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A day in her life

The faint whistle grew louder. She saw the reddish-brown blur coming closer. It came to a stop in front of her. Her ailing eyes made out the outline of the train – the three o’clock. It was time. Her grandson would come anytime now. Others told her that he had run away with the gypsies. [...]

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The Tea Break

This piece of fiction is a work of V. Aparnaa, who has previously written ‘To marry or not to marry’  for us. Since she is not a member, it is published under the name of Shweta Krishnan. The bell rang. “Ms. Tara…?” called out John from behind the counter. I am at the small café adjoining [...]

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The Cage – part six

In part five The bird flew out again. The sky was a warm blue, inviting and beautiful. It soared across it and then, came to rest on the branch of a tree. Restful. Happy. The trees rustled in the wind, the flowers shivered shyly and the bushes…  What was that in the bushes? In the [...]

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The Cage – part five

In part four The bird pushed the door of the cage slowly. It was not locked. It flew open. It paused for a minute looking at the world around it, without bars obstructing it. It was a beautiful world. And there it was- the sky, pure and blue- calling to it.  It opened its wings [...]

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The Cage – part four

 In part three She went back to Narayani for a while. She was sleeping. So she went back to the kitchen. It reminded her of him. Why had he been staring at her like that? What had he asked her? Why did he want to know who she was? And why was she feeling so [...]

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The Cage – part three

In part two She did not want to go back to her room. It had been her prison, the last time she had seen a boy. And that too, because she had stood watching him as he had carried the large vessel of milk to the kitchen. She had hardly thought that he would want [...]

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The Cage – part two.

In part one Did you see the paintings in the corridor on your way here?’ she asked. The old Thamburati sat again on that armchair, fanning herself. He noticed she filled it quite completely. Her head looked small on her obese body. Her hair was thin and white. It was pulled back into a knot [...]

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