Story 22

"Did you just take my bottle?" fumed Ravi. Kishan chose to ignore this as he concentrated more on the cars which were zooming past him. Ravi asked a bit louder, "Brother, did you take my bottle?" Kishan looked at him meekly and somehow managed to ask, "Which bottle?" "You are asking me that? Seriously? What do you think we drink? Glucon-D?" Ravi was losing his temper now. Kishan tried to alleviate the situation a little bit. "Mom usually gives us two bottles. How could you forget that?" Kishan quipped. Ravi couldn't control himself as he nudged Kishan hard.

As Kishan shrieked, Ravi raised his voice higher, "Don't cry and try garner sympathy for yourself. I am warning you." This time Kishan was furious, "That doesn't mean you will nudge me like that. How could you? It hurts!" "How could it possibly hurt? It was just a gentle nudge?" Ravi turned around and looked at him. "You were hungry. Weren't you?" asked Ravi as he saw Kishan's bright blue eyes swelling up. "Yes! It has been long since I had my food and I couldn't take it anymore" confessed Kishan. "Why didn't you tell me that in the first place?" Ravi asked. "And what would you have done?" shot back Kishan. "We could have planned to grab his attention" replied Ravi.

"How long do we need to stay here?" the disgust was prominent in Kishan's voice. "Beats me!" quipped Ravi. "Tell me something Kishan? How much younger are you to me?" Ravi asked. "I don't know. But what I have gathered from them is, you are just one year elder to me" Kishan replied defiantly as he was fully aware of Ravi's repartee. "Kiddo!" Ravi squealed into laughter as Kishan hit him from behind. " Don't you do that to me or else I won't be waking up for you when you are scared at night." Kishan knew there was no point arguing again. For the past few days, he has been waking up well past midnight and without Ravi it would be virtually impossible for him to spend the rest of the night.

"What took you so long?" the irritation was apparent in Manish's voice. "There was a huge queue in the cash counter. Sorry!" Shilpa replied apologetically. "How have they been?" Shilpa asked as she took the pram from Manish. "They were creating a ruckus! They were squealing, shouting, crying. At one point I found Kishan looking at Ravi angrily. I think they communicate, you know. There must be something" Manish said helplessly. "Imagine a two year old boy conversing with his one year old brother" giggled Shilpa as Manish smiled. Ravi turned back and  first looked at his mother and then Kishan who was snoozing away in glory. Now, he decided to cry. He wanted some milk in his feeding bottle which Kishan had emptied earlier.

Story 21

"You want to pee?" Jason asked his little brother. Landon was as pale as ever. Never in his wildest of dreams had he thought about this. There have been talks about some tectonic shifts which might cause massive destruction globally. Scientists had revealed this might just be the end of the existing world and beginning of a new one. The 're-incarnated earth' where the whole civilization will move backwards. A civilization where development will be measured by our progress towards the stage of cave age - the cave men and cave women would be the epitome of modernism. Questions had flown thick and thin. "Why do you think such an event will happen?" "We had always knew destruction push people towards a new beginning, which eventually turns brighter in course of time. But why is it different now?" "Do you think God is angry with us?" As people started blaming karma for this apparent regressive structure, scientists clarified that the reasons for such a pattern cannot be fully understood. But yes, definitely earth has been angry with us for quite some time and probably she doesn't want to make the same mistake again by providing us everything we need.

As Landon nodded a no to his brother he felt a searing pain  on his left leg. All the incidents of the last few days has been a blur for him. He remembered the house collapsing as they ran out from their home. The whole neighborhood was out on the road. Everyone's house had collapsed or was on the verge of collapsing. He remembered holding Jason's hand and running after their parents in an attempt to save their lives when suddenly the roads started turning upside down. It was right out of those Hollywood movies which they rented on sunday's and watched together. As the crowd  screamed and panicked, running helter skelter Landon remembered his mother looking at them. The kind of looks which is difficult to explain but then it leaves a deep impression on your mind. Forever.

Suddenly he felt a sense of longing. He wanted to see his mother but deep within his heart he knew it was no longer possible because they themselves were not aware of their location. He felt tears trickling down his cheeks when that long purple tail slowly patted his back. He smiled at looked up at her as she looked at him with her motherly eyes. He took her tail and kissed it softly when Jordan shouted, "The egg. It's hatching!" As Landon ran down, the purple dinosaur smiled to herself. In this paleontological world, she had three children to look after. Two human kids and one baby dinosaur.

Story 20

"Hey there beautiful! What's up?" Anthony smiled at Julia as he took a chair from the side and sat beside her. "Nothing much. The same usual Thursdays. The boring sociology classes followed by gender studies. It's such a waste of time!" quipped Julia. "But then, you can't have film studies class everyday? Can you?" asked Anthony, as he opened his jacket and hung it on the side of the chair. "In a perfect utopian situation, it would" pat came Julia's reply. "Julia, it's all about breaking the...", Anthony was interrupted by the waiter. "Two black coffees and two ham sandwiches with extra cheese" Julia ordered without thinking for a second.

"You should break the monotony when it comes to food. At least, give something else a shot!" Anthony laughed, bringing out a packet of cigarettes. "Can I have a smoke?" Julia asked. Lighting one cigarette from Anthony's packet, Julia asked, "How are you liking Paris?" "Is this an after effect of Bertolucci's Dreamers?" smiled Anthony. "I would be lying if I say no. But this country, has inspired me, left me intrigued, time and again" said Julia emanating perfect smoke circles from her mouth. "Can I guess the reason behind so?" smiled Anthony sheepishly. "Really? Go ahead then" said Julia.

As the waiter left the coffee and sandwiches on the table, Anthony put two dollops of sugar, stirred it a bit, lit up another smoke and said, "Because France is where it all began. Films wouldn't have been the same, if it wasn't for the French New Wave cinemas. Things would have been different, if there wouldn't have been a Breathless or a 400 Blows. People would have never thought of breaking the art again and again. A Bicycle Thief moved people so much, that it kept on running to packed houses for more than a year. Because France is the place where you breathe, sleep, eat, drink cinema. France is where the parallel independent films burst into life." Julia stubbed her smoke and came closer to Anthony, looking straight into his eyes she said, "Do you know what Godard once said?" Anthony smiled and replied, "If your wife don't like the same films as you do, divorce is just a matter of time." "I don't think we need to bother about that" said Julia as she embraced Anthony in a passionate kiss.


"Sir? Anything more?" "No. Bill please" Sushant replied, with a sigh. "Ping!" Sushant's phone vibrated. Julia has replied. As Sushant started to write, Julia again replied, "I would never want to meet you Anthony. I would never want to ruin the illusion." "Same here Julia" Sushant replied, as he stared at the blue sky outside the coffee shop.

Story 19

Age has made him wiser and patient. In the autumn of his life, he did not have any regrets as such. Life's trajectory has taught him a lot and as of now, he had nothing more to ask for.
But then Forrest Gump once said, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are gonna get" and invariably,  he found himself in a situation which he least expected.
In life, there are certain things which you do not want to think about. You accept it, the way it is and then simply move on. It's easier said than done but eventually you end up living your life without it. Probably life teaches you to fight and move ahead and as he walked along the path, the floodgate of memories opened up.
It was some fifty years back when he was also aspiring to be a part of this special place. He remembered those late night WhatsApp conversations which he had with them, all those discussions, quizzes, arguments which they shared. Preparing for the exam never seemed an issue. Rather the camaraderie kept things going. He had enjoyed every moment of it  and till today it was the best five months of his life.
"Dadaji, you want a cup of tea?". He was forced back to reality. "Do they still sell tea at that place? Chota's?", he asked. "Yes. Want to go there?". " Yes!", prompt came his reply.
As he sipped on his cup of tea, he remembered the picture which he saw back then. Nothing has changed. The tyre swing, the ludo board on the floor, the MICA wall - everything is the same. As he looked at Ashish, his grandson, talking with his friends he smiled to himself. Some fifty years back, he didn't convert MICA and today he has come to attend his grandson's convocation. The school of ideas definitely had some separate ideas for him.

Story 18

It has been raining for the last few days in Kolkata and tonight was not different. As Madhubala stood beside the window, the rain soaked wind swept across her face. The wrinkled cheeks managed to smile as she closed her eyes. Rain brought back so many memories for her.

She distinctly remembered that day. The radios announced that a treaty has been signed between Union Jack and Hindustan. The treaty was based on the pact that Hindustan will be divided into two separate countries India and Pakistan and religion was the only way of proving whether you were an Indian or Pakistani. Little Madhubala was oblivious to everything. She was busy playing with Shazia and her trying to make two swans with her two hands. She remembered her father running up to her, literally snatching her away from her friends. Madhubala cried a lot. So did her father.

She remembered crossing the Kashmir border and for the first time she found herself amidst snowfall. The sheer beauty of the nature astounded her as she looked around dumstruck. She didn't realise people crossing sides frantically - a last minute attempt to get themselves recognised as a citizen of a country. All she could see was a group of young kids standing in a circle on the snowy path.

She never thought that she would get married in a country about which she had no clue. She didn't even realise that Peshwar will never come back to her again. As a 10 year old Madhubala with a mehendi clad hand got ready to be married to a 18 year old  Shashwat, her mother explained to her that this is where "jannat" lies. This is the place about which Shazia used to tell her. This consolation was enough to make Madhubala smile.

The sudden lightening stirred up Madhubala. Oh, age brings back so much of memories. She switched on the light and slowly went to the corner of the room. She opened her steel trunk and brought out the Waterman camera which was in tatters right now. She fondled it slowly as she walked towards the window. The rain filled wind again swept her face. Strangely after 89 years it felt a lot like Peshwar. Yes. It felt a lot like Hindustan.

Story 17

Subuhi was getting ready. Weekends were the best part of her life. Rather the only part of her life ! From a very small age, she had understood the basic equation of her life : her every need was a necessity and they were supposed to be fulfilled. So she never bothered about the quadratic equations both in life as well as in maths paper. She was happy with her fashion anthology and she made sure that the Gucci's, Jimmy Choo's, Blueberry's were in place. And this weekend was definitely not an exception to that.
Brijesh was the new departmental manager of Tristara, "a shop in a mall", which ensured 5-star shopping experience for the customers. Like any other Indian kid, Brijesh did his MBA from a pretty good B-school. The degree gave his B.Tech a boost, that's what his peers said,  and taught him the finer nuances of " selling a product". The basic thing which he understood during his two years MBA stint was, the sole reason why people survive or earns to survive is to be contribute and be a part of this consumer's world which depends on the major C of commercialisation. And it's all about selling it to the consumer which matters. This line of thought got him a decent job at Tristara. As he got ready for a hectic day, he saw their loyal customer Mrs. Subuhi Duggar getting out of her car. Brijesh smiled. The consumers and the providers are just two sides of the same page as Brijesh got ready to welcome his customer.
As Subuhi walked towards the shop, she smiled to herself. The Donna Karen bags were going to be added to her wardrobe and, her day dreaming suffered a momentary break as this kid approached her to buy a packet of incensed stick. Disgusted she literally stamped the little boy's foot and went inside the shop.
The boy hung his face down. He was just 5 rupees short of buying a kite for his brother as he cursed his luck. But the world was to engrossed in commercial existence than to think about a kid and his love for kite !

Story 16

"Woof ! What's wrong Bling ? I have never heard you barking so much. You sounded so tense bro" Mickey, the labrador, looked genuinely worried. Bling, the alsatian,  and he were the best of pals. Their master's house were just opposite to each other, which made things even better for them. Bling was elder to Mickey by a dog year but his seniority didn't affect their friendship. They discussed everything right from the food which they were served at home to the family issues within the family to Picasso, the white cat, who has befriended them just a month back. It was a dog's world and they were a textbook example of best friend. Getting no response from Bling, Mickey gave him a shove. "Hey there man ! What are you thinking about ? Will you tell me the cause of your concern ?".  Bling looked at him quietly and quivered, "Bro, things don't seem right." It was Mickey's turn to be angry and he shot back,"Yes. I didn't even realise that, you know. I just thought that you were high on beef steak, sardines and the Fast &Furious film !" His voice reeked of sarcasm as Bling replied apologetically, "Calm down Mickey. I will tell you everything, bro. Just tag along and don't make any sound."
Mickey bluntly replied, "Woof !" and Bling led the way.

This was not the first time that Mickey has come to Bling's home.He loved the decor of the house, the large LED television at the side of the wall and often requested Bling to allow him to watch one episode of Garfield. He loved that cat ! As Bling led him to his master's room Mickey asked him softly, "Woof ! Isn't your master home ?" Bling shook his head and opened the door. And Mickey was left awe struck. He had never seen so much of cash in his entire life. The floor was stacked with money and on a more careful observation he found gold bars hidden in between them. Mickey was just going to ask the reason behind all this when he saw Bling sitting by the window and crying. Mickey went near him and asked him softly, "What's the issue Bling ? Why is everything scattered like this ? Where is your master ?" But Bling wouldn't reply. He just kept looking outside his window. Mickey had never seen him crying so much. He asked him again, louder and firmer, "Woof ! Tell me man. What's wrong ?"

" Last night he was very distressed. He just kept on telling me, Bling politics is as dirty as hell. How could they do something like this ? When suddenly the local news channel flashed this picture of a kid, left alone, dead at the sea shore, my master cried out in disgust. He told me, he would be doing everything he can to help this refugees. Crying, he told me that humanity is losing everything and we, the canines, were much better than our masters. In the morning he left early, went to the bank and came back with all this. This was his life savings but he wouldn't care. He told me to stay safe as he stashed a bag full of money and left. As I kept waiting for him, Picasso came and told me, that they had started firing near the border and close to 1000 people were feared dead. Picasso told me, my master's name was at the top of the list."