Even in the dark, I could see, the end was near, death was throwing open it’s arms to me. I could feel my pulse ticking, my heart was drumming in my ears,” any minute now” I thought to myself.
“Chikne!! table saaf kar” the man in blue loongi yelled at me.
I hurried to dutifully do the same, after all Anna bhau’s eyes were on me. I had come to Mumbai a day back, the last train from the village left at 3 am, I with the unerring logic of a 15 …

Long hair, Bharatanatyam, feminism, cooking. Kohl in her eyes and a cake for every birthday in the family. Shopping for hand-woven sarees and carnations for her living room. She loved being a woman.
But when it happened for the third time, she hoped she’d give birth to a boy.
Seventeen years ago, when she lost her aunt, she was too young to understand what it meant to hate a disease. She missed her aunt but didn’t question her going away. Fifteen years later, as she watched her mother being wheeled into the …

I always feel sad when I see some poor dumb animal, or bird, lying in the road after being hit by a car or a lorry.
I am, sad to say, frequently harassed by the countless birds that sometimes seem intent on committing suicide as they glide across my path. In my case, I have room to maneuver as I don’t drive a car. I spend most of my traveling time on a bicycle, either shopping, riding over rough terrain or just plain racing along the county roads, chasing tractors and …

Watching Cartoon Network in his hall, Madan Razdan-an 8 year old boy was dreaming again. He called himself the biggest fan of Superman and aspired to be a superhero himself one day. The noise from outside did not distract him from watching his favorite cartoon. After all he was used to his home called KASHMIR- A place where militant group attacks and civil protests were not rare.
Madan was a normal Kashmiri kid. His cheeks as pink as native apples ,he went to school with his mom. His mom held him …

This windy day, Hannah receives a willow leaf which glides into her top pocket like an angel’s wing; instantly, it caresses the scars upon her soul and nestles by her heart. Her destiny scripts itself upon a tiny frame: “The Comforter” — she barely knows what this means. She dreams of beauty and an escape above the crevasse where she lives. Someday, she will sing gentle music to them, and the presence of Love will calm all things. She smiles tenderly in the face of reality.
Her Father prods her with …

“You are so not going to do this, Hannah!” Mary pleaded.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“I don’t know.  You are my sister.”
“So?”
“I am asking you not to. You won’t go to her and ruin everything.”
“Watch me!”
Hannah turned her back to her elder sister and ran away.
Damn it! Mary thought when she ran for her life in a desperate attempt to catch up with her sister.
For a few minutes it seemed like Hannah was unreachable but then the distance between the girls began to decrease.  Soon enough Mary drew up with Hannah and they …

“I want to die!” the little boy told me, tears streaming in rivulets down his chubby cheeks.
It’s not often that children step into the path of an oncoming bike, holding out the palm of their hand as a traffic warden would.  Having been a Social Worker for several years, I thought he had run away from home after a hiding.
This was not the time to offer platitudes. I hugged him, and rummaged in my backpack to get him a tissue.  I also drew out a bottle of orange juice, which …

Summer vacation had been half way through by now. Just another month and all surrounding hills of their town would be desolate again. With all campgrounds empty, life would be boring again for 18-year old Ron.
So, Ron had just persuaded Erin to take a stroll into the Fairyvalley. Erin was only 15, but there was something about her. He couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but it was something mysterious. They were just chatting a bit when they took the path towards the valley. Erin found the situation quite exciting. She felt …

I sit here alone, wondering about the last one week. It has been the most hurting week of my life. Tanya left me.7 days ago. We’ve had an argument that night. She wanted to go in search of her father, who had left us 12 years ago. She was just 4 then, may be she has some good memories of him.
I should not have been so hard on her. She is my life. When my alcoholic and non-committed husband left me, she was the reason I lived. I tried to …