Christmas Poem - Child's Play

Before I close my eyes, I looked around

Colorful decoration is all that surround

One glance at the brightly lit room

A quick one at the underlying broom

Dad said Santa comes at midnight

Tis the reason this year I didn’t fight

The Bankster – Book Review

One fine day as I was sitting idly in my hostel room I decided to enroll for BlogAdda’s book review program. It was a win-win situation. First I would get to read a book for free (believe me we Marwaris have an obsession with anything ‘FREE’). In a way it is just like Harshita from the book I picked for my first review called “The Bankster”

Summers Time

This time last year we had butterflies fluttering in our tummies.

This time last year we were in a trance.

This time last year we were walking around like mummies.

This time last year we had big plans.

City of Joy

A

s I stepped down from the train compartment I could smell all types of scents from different corners of the platform. The returning passengers sped through the trodden path to get to the exit gate. There were almost a hundred stripped children running around begging for alms. Some of them climbed the coaches and started sweeping around in the hope of finding any left behind treasure. AC coaches were the most prized ones as normally one could find some money or at least a few left behind boxes of food. As I picked up my bags and arranged them on top of one another, I could see I was being left behind by the others who had already made it out of the exit gates. I quickened my pace and in no time was behind a haggling couple who were arguing whether to catch the bus home or take a taxi. Poor man had to relent to the tantrums of the imposing women in the end and ended up paying a fortune to the robbers who were waiting outside just for this opportunity.

Two Minutes

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 29; the 29th Edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. The topic for this month is 'TWO MINUTES'.

I

t was a windy night and shutters to almost all the shops had been downed except a few illegal liquor shops who thought it better to make money rather than fear the onslaught of the hawaldars. If someone did come and say anything they could offer a bottle or two which would surely pacify them. Several shady figures lined in front of the shops and discussed their business which ranged from changing the face of the nation to robbing the local banks.

Rajan was a regular visitor to the area and liked to spend a lot of time interacting with the number of wise people who had ingenious ideas. Sometimes he could overhear some sinister conspiracies shaping up or a plot hatching. This would really make him curious. He had the knack of starting conversations and would approach anyone unapologetically. Not that anyone said anything as most of the stuff people said there were rumours and utter nonsense.

Dream Run

I

t was time to kiss darkness goodbye. It was that time of the year when even rocks turned the colour green. Birds made sure that they do not miss out on the fun and chirped as loud as they could. Some of the younger birds used were amused as the older ones were frantically excited and flew around doing various kinds of stunts and somersaults. It was daybreak.

The shore was quiet except the occasional sound of the lashing of the waves. It felt as though waters had their own way of enjoying and created a din intermittently. On the other side of the shore a line of trees could be spotted which ran all the way down till naked eyes could see.

The Game

O

nce upon a time in a lonely village called Rameshnagar there lived a man who was popularly known as Gopi. His real name was Gopal das and was given the tag of the local goon. He also had a very good reputation with the local police chowki. There seemed to be a strange disconnect between this particular village and the rest in the region. Rameshnagar used to be famous for its handicrafts and anyone who was in this trade was regarded with awe. This was mainly because of the presence of high quality of artisans and widespread market for their products. However due to the rising instances of crime the industry had been affected and now there were only a few of them who indulged in this trade.

The small village was characterized by a line of thatched huts and a few single storied solid buildings interspersed with mudded roads. There was a single mosque and a single temple in the village which were usually deserted. There was a caretaker each for both the houses of religion and Hindus and Muslims used to live in close contact with each other. It was really strange to see these traditional arch rivals living in complete harmony.

Red Dragon - Part 2

This is the 2nd part to the post Red Dragon - Part 1

C

rowd waited with disbelief at the royal grounds overlooking the dark palace. It was an extraordinary sight to see civilians and military forces come together for this occasion. Civilians were mostly in ragged clothes and looked a bit upset at the recent developments. If what they had heard was correct then it would be really tough for them to survive. The soldiers were more of skirmishers and almost all of them were in full gear although there had been no war signals. They had been waiting there for almost three hours in the sweltering heat of May. It was almost as if that the sun had suddenly found its lost energy and was emitting in full glow. One look at the dark orange dot in the sky could tell that it might have been angry at something. But like everyone else it was also waiting for the moment. If it got delayed anymore then it might as well go behind the mountains to its abode and send its assistant Mr. Moon to keep a tap. They would meet the next morning and would share the information.

Blank Pages

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 28; the 28th Edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. The topic for this month is 'BLANK PAGES'.

R

hea was sitting in a corner scribbling something in a tiny diary. This was her most prized possession and being an extreme introvert it helped her to share her feeling which was not possible normally as she hardly spoke to anyone.

Dog and the bones

N

ew Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani express had just been derailed near Allahabad and it was tough to get an estimate on the number of casualties. This came as a shocker to the government as Rajdhani is considered as an elitist train and this was bound to create a lot of noise in the coming days. The government was already under scanner for rising inflation and lately for the surge in fuel prices. The high command in Delhi though thought it fit to keep silent and let the fizz die away. There were some tough questions that the Railways had to answer and media would make sure that they get their piece of the pie.

Red Dragon - Part 1

A

s the last light of the day faded towards the eastern mountains a lone bird could be seen hovering high up in the sky. It seemed the poor creature had lost its way. It was bellowing in pain and looked in some kind of trouble. As the bird descended on the barren desert plains one could easily identify its characteristic features. In fact it was different from all the other birds one could have ever seen. It took a while for the figure hidden behind the rocks to make out that the bird was actually the same dragon which was rumored to be creating havoc in the country side. The hooded figure slowly moved out from its vantage point and tried to get a closer look on the only discernible living thing in its vicinity. The dragon had huge red eyes and his scales were jet red. It was almost as if the dragon was created to perfection and displayed unmatched beauty.

The Proposal - 55 words

“Hi, I wanted to talk to you about something important”

“Listen I cannot talk right now, can we chat?”

“Yeah sure, will you marry me?”

“Are you mad?”

“I am sitting in your office reception waiting for you”

“What? Have you lost it?”

“Yeah I lost it day we got married”

Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye

J

ai and Prerna hugged each other with delight. Suddenly they felt as if they should have something meetha. It seemed the Cadbury Dairy Milk ad did make an impact and Jai immediately opened the Cadbury pack that was in the refrigerator. He lovingly shared the chocolate with his wife. They spent around an hour discussing how they would break the news to the family.

They lived in a joint family and it meant that this piece of news was going to spread like wildfire. After all everyone was awaiting the first child of this generation. They had been married for two years now and everyone in the family was eager to hear the good news.

Be a Star

T

raffic jams in Mumbai are daily phenomena and people are used to wait for hours. Add to it the hot May sun and it was a perfect recipe for rising tempers and major fights. Normally the jams would take place because of an accident, autowalas breaking signals or just poor manning by the traffic hawaldars. Today it was due to a movie shoot that was going on the main road. Heartthrob of millions and the very popular Rocky Kapoor was in the middle of an intense fight with a couple of gentlemen who looked straight out of the gym that was just two blocks away. It was really baffling to see a lean guy like Rocky beating the giant-like villains so easily. As is characteristic of the Indians a huge circle could be seen all around the area where people who had no work, had little work and even those who had very important work could be found standing hoping to get a glimpse of their favourite star.

Face-Off

G

unshots and screams drowned the din that was created in the stadium. As Major Ahmed peeked from the fresh opening which had been created in the wall he saw that there were two terrorists who were firing blindly at a group of civilians who were trying to flee towards the other side of the road. As he was observing them he felt a warm breath down his neck. He quickly turned around and saw a child standing there in torn clothes. The child was oblivious of the situation and was looking somewhere on the other side of the road.

The Silent Lover

It is a wet morning in Kolkata with children and office goers waiting for buses, ducking under any shelter that they can find. It is very interesting to note this scene as children often have funny little umbrellas which is more a hindrance than a help. Office goers display funnier characteristics and can mostly be found bickering at the wet weather and how messy the roads have become. The city is full of little potholes that crop up every now and then on the main roads. It displays its true colours during the rainy season when water accumulates in these makeshift bowls and is splashed on the pedestrians every time a vehicle passes. Waiting for buses is often a pain as often these bus stops are overcrowded and boarding them is a task in itself. To add to it the waterlogged streets are not something that one can look forward to. For children it is fun as it meant getting dirty and sometimes it meant bunking school also. Office goers do not have this liberty and are left at the mercy of the rain god.

The Crash

T

he voice from the overhead loudspeaker said calmly “Ladies and gentlemen, as we start our descent please make sure your seat belt is securely fastened. Please turn off all electronic devices until we are safely parked at the gate. Thank you.”

Santa, can I meet you?

N

aughty or Nice? This is the question that keeps bothering millions of children every year on Christmas Eve. After all it’s the big fat old man in the trademark red dress that is rumoured to give away presents jumping through the chimneys (don’t worry he has other means to deliver those presents to houses that do not have a chimney). More than the presents the children care about a list that Santa prepares categorizing every child in Naughty or Nice based on his/her conduct the whole year. This keeps the children on their toes as they try to be at their best lest they land in the Naughty list and be denied of the much cherished presents.