My Final Goodbye To You All

"You all have made my past one and a half year of my existence here the most memorable. I laughed, cried and frowned with all of you here. My home was no longer far. It was right here at my fingertips. The homesickness was gone. With all of you by my side whenever I needed a hug or a shoulder, I felt safe. I felt at peace. I have always believed that it is the waves of time and of experiences that give you a shape. That make you the person you are. You are born without a shape and as these waves hit you, it chisels your soul and leaves behind "you". Thanks for being the waves which helped me shape into a wonderful human being. Thanks for leaving behind a will to face challenges. Thanks for bearing with my tantrums. You all have been my friends and siblings and this place has been my primary abode. Thanks for making my home so beautiful to live in. Thanks for decorating it with your comments on my work.

My time has come. Time to move on. Time to leave all of you here. I have formed some forever friends here. I have tried my best to give you the best of what I had. Parting is inevitable. It's time for me to detach from you all. As I fade into memory, hope the memories i gifted always stay fresh in your mind. Hope the stories i narrated could manage to make you smile and helped you see the lighter side of things. If my philosophy has made a difference, then I feel blessed. Sorry for making you cry with all the emotional stories, but it was to make you realize that happiness and grief are two sides of the same coin.

A star has its life. It twinkles brightly, fades with time and then sizzles away. It knows its time has come. And when it does, it severes its ties and lets it go. They say if you wish something when you see a falling star, the wish would come true. That's how even in its dying moments, the star instills hope in everyone out there. And it makes its life worthwile. If I have been able to instill hope in even one of you through my works, I consider my stay worthwile. I consider my life worthwile. I consider my decision to start and shape this place the way it is today worthwile.
I will be here for you all. Like a guardian angel. Watching all of you from behind an invisible veil. Seeing you do stuff will make me proud of having shared this space with such brilliant minds. I will miss you all. With a heavy heart I bid goodbye to all.

Adios!"


Director: "Cutttttttttt!!! What a shot, Sandeep!! You got into the skin of the role of a priest embarking on his last journey to the "t"!! Good shot! Team......break for lunch!"

My Dearest

Dearest Ammu,

Today you turn 13. Welcome to the teenage years. Welcome to this new phase of your life where life becomes fun and challenging at the same time. What will unfold will be undoubtedly the best years of your life. You have been everything I ever wished for in a sister. Infact, you are the best sister ever! The last 12 years have been simply wonderful. You have been the only reason for me to look ahead for a new hope filled morning after a dull day.

You etched your image in my heart forever with that toothless smile you gave me the moment Amma kept you in my lap, the day you were born. When I close my eyes at night, it's that image which comes to my mind. I still laugh out loud when i remember the day when you as a toddler passed urine while sitting on my lap, and the school bus kept honking for me to board while Amma was busy pulling out a new pair of uniforms from the cupboard. I dont think you would recollect, but I was the one on whom you first tested the sharpness of your tiny teeth which had sprouted out of nowhere. It felt like a hundred syringes had just been inserted in my cheek. And you know how scared I am of syringes! The moment I was back from school I would head straight towards the bedroom, where Amma would be trying all the tricks in the book to get you to sleep, to catch that smile of yours on seeing me. And you would never disappoint. You were the angel sent to me by god. I relive all those moments every single day.

Everyday, I dream about you bringing the whole house down with your cries. There is not a single day which passes without your thought crossing my mind. I so wish you were around to see me join college. I so wish you were around to cheer me in all my achievements. I so wish you were around to bully me and pester me with all the requests only a sister has rights to. I so wish I could shower you with all kinds of gifts in this world. Sometimes I wish I could see how would look when you turned 13. For me, you will forever be that 1 year old cutie pie who managed to call me "Chetta" before God took you away. That word still echoes in my ears, every single day. For me you will always be the angel who still guides me from up above.

I miss you every second Ammu. Happy birthday to the best sister in this world! And yaa, I hope you like the barbie I have kept besides. I am aware that teenagers dont play with barbies, but what i KNOW is that you love dolls! :-)

Loads of love and hugs,
Acchu


*P.S: This is a work of fiction

One night stand

Amar: Last night was amazing bro!

Arvind: Wow maccha! Tell me more about it. You guys had fun, eh? Did you do it?

Amar: No, no. We just hugged and chatted all night long. But was a crazy night. She's hot man. And yaa...we kissed! And the taste still lingers

Arvind: Amazing man!! Well done brother. Step by step. Dont hurry! The mantra to success.

Amar: I think i am falling in love with her

Arvind: Don't spoil your life man! Have fun, while the sun shines bright

Amar: She's an angel brother. She is ravishing. Last night was the best night ever.

Arvind: Lucky scoundrel you are. Show me a glimpse of this ravishing beauty.

Amar: I managed to click a snap of hers, despite her reservations. Here, don't you agree she is amazing?

*After looking at the snap, takes out his cell and dials a number*

Arvind: Where the hell where you last night? Group studies?? Group studies my foot! Don't you lie to your brother, Veena!!

*Pic courtesy: psivamp (deviantart)

An Eternal Wait

A Dream....A Hope.........A Wish...

for mornings which dont carry the blood stains of previous night....

for rains which cleanse every soul it touches, taking all the hatred away. ...

for a spring where flowers dont have to think before blooming. ...

for a winter where the white snow could cover this blood stained soil....

for rivers where you could wash off your sins....

for vessels which take you to safer shores weathering rough tides, instilling hope....

for roads which lead to a destination....

for a world which wont shrink further....

for amazing yesteryears....

for the lost innocence....

for a different world....

for a world sans caste....

for a world where a thousand trillion smiles illuminate the night sky.....

......An Eternal Wait!

True Love

Ishita: Do you love me dear?

Balu: I do

Ishita: How much?

Balu: More than my life

Ishita: Promise me we will be always together. Till death do us part

Balu: Till death do us part, in every birth we take

Ishita: I know you are only mine. I won't trade you for the world!

Balu: You are the only girl I have ever known who genuinely cares for me and I appreciate it

Ishita: I really do

Balu: Whenever I see you near me, I feel so blessed

Ishita: I experience bliss

Balu: You are an angel couriered for me from above

Ishita: I have only started living after meeting you

Balu: It feels as if I know you since an eternity

Ishita: Strange. But true

Balu: Whenever I close my eyes, it's only you

Ishita: You will make me cry

Balu: I Love You

Ishita: I have always loved you. Love you too!

*Hug. Tighter hug. Tighest hug. Violins. Sparks. Breeze. Kiss*

Balu: Loving you is like losing myself

Ishita: Loving you is like finding myself

Balu: Don't you dare shed those tears! They are precious

Ishita: I know. My smile lights up your day. Tears unsettle you. I won't cry now. Ever!

Balu: You know me so well Asha

Ishita: Huh. Who is Asha?

Balu: Oops! Sorry! You also know me so well Nisha....

Ishita: Get Lost!

Balu: Don't go away! Don't! Oops...Hey...Ohh...Hello...Errr...Didn't I say "Loving you is like losing myself"....Short term memory loss is just the beginning of the whole process.....Stoppppppp...Atleast leave back my Nokia Touch 5800 we exchanged last week. Take your Nokia 1100 with you. God!! Stopppppppppp......

*Image courtesy: superstock.com*

The Rocking Concept

The agency was all set to make their presentation on a concept they had cracked for Chennai. After settling down in our seats we ordered the customary biscuits and coffee to keep the energy levels high for the discussions and brainstorming session towards the end of the presentation. A good presentation is like keeping the plate of salad before guests, it has to look good. Like eager to please hosts wherein you put in a generous word or two about the cooking abilities of your wife/mother before the final showdown just to create an impression, presentations require that added personal touch beforehand to shine in all glory when presented. But if the guest stumps you with a question like “Your wife can cook too?”, you are often left in a state where speech screeches to a sudden halt on its way up your larynx and forms lumps in your throats. Wondering how something similar can happen with presentations? That’s just what happened that day!

I was joined by my colleague and boss in the meeting room, and we were looking forward to an enthralling session. You have to, especially when Roy, the creative director with our agency had excitedly communicated across the phone that he had managed to crack a brilliant concept for Chennai. “Brilliant” often turns to “Good” when the realization dawns that the concept takes a completely different route than what was suggested, later to “Work in progress” when you convey that doing something like this would not be technically feasible, and may end up in “I thought so as well” when you point out that the ROI is taking a hit in the name of creativity and may not justify the money spent, depending on the skill of the speaker. I was hoping that it turns out to be a brilliant one given Roy’s track record and relationship with us, but nothing had prepared me for what was to follow.

“I hope you have managed to address the issues which the last concept had. If we don’t, it might end up backfiring and we will lose the opportunity bro”, I looked at Roy in anticipation

“Nothing to worry, Sandeep. I was on a holiday and had not gone through the last one shared. That’s were the problem happened”, he assured me.

“And what about the costs yaar?? If you have come with something even remotely close to the ones you shared for the last one, I may not have enough budgets to make this campaign see the light of the day. I trust you have worked out a feasible solution”, I confirmed with him. It’s a classic battle of costs v/s creativity discussion that every client and agency have each time a presentation is made. All is well till the final slide of “Project Cost” comes up and all hell breaks loose.

“Trust me on that. We know your limitations now that we have worked on the brand for almost a year now. And money is always a polite way of conveying that we don’t like the concept”, said Roy and with that we burst out laughing. I controlled myself when I noticed that my colleague had chosen not to laugh on the joke and was glancing at her watch suggesting that we start off. Roy also noticed the same, and without waiting for my nod started off.

Roy cleared his throat and said, “As you see, we have got a rocking concept for Chennai.”

“What??” blurted out my colleague, with a look of shock on her face

“I just said that this Chennai concept is rocking”, Roy reinstated. A visible hesitancy had crept into his voice now.

“What are you saying? Have you done your background research? Do you still stand by that statement of yours?” asked my colleague with a smirk on her face. “I don’t think this concept will work. Chennai people are just not into ROCK music!!” she said and looked towards me in anticipation for support.

I controlled my urge to laugh and managed to look back into her eyes and gave an approving nod.

I don’t blame the waiters at the restaurant where I went for dinner with Roy who witnessed us laughing our hearts out for thinking we were out of our minds

Kinginni - The Anklet

*P.S.: This entry has been declared the winner. Click here for the judge's comments. Presenting to you the winning short story of the picture based story writing contest held at Writers Lounge. Yeyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!! :D :D*
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This is my entry for a picture based story writing contest held at Writers Lounge. We were required to write a 500 word story on the picture used in the story below. Hope you all like my attempt. Long time since I sat down to write a story. Still rusty rusty :-)

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“When we die, we become stars. Forever shining and up there for people we love most”, Ammalu told her 5 year old girl.

“But Amma, you won’t even be able to see or hear me from far up there”, Kinginni frowned.

“Molu, you were named Kinginni which in our native tongue means the anklet. The sound of these anklets will inform me. There is always an invisible umbilical cord that connects a mother with her daughter, no matter how far she is”, Ammalu tried reassuring her daughter, wiping away tears which she had so valiantly fought for the past few months.

This conversation was still fresh in Kinginni’s mind though it had taken place two years back. Ammalu had passed away that very year, leaving Kinginni with her maternal grandmother and fisherman brother Velan. For the last two years, like a ritual Kinginni would head to the rocky beach towards the other end of her adopted home on every birthday of hers and converse with the brightest star closest to the moon. The sound made by her anklets would echo all around announcing her arrival. She would open her heart out to this twinkling star and share every single thing that had happened in the last one year. And the star would shine brightly while Kinginni smiled, fade out when she cried, twinkle at her complaints and bathe Kinginni in the cool moonlight when she would yearn for her mothers touch.

Today was her birthday. But things had gone terribly wrong. Kinginni had lost her anklets two days back while playing near the beach. She had spent the last two days crying. The new white frock her uncle gifted her this morning had failed to cheer her up. It had been raining heavily for the past few days and today was no different. As soon as it stopped raining towards the night, Kinginni made a dash to her spot. There was an eerie silence all around and the place sounded unfamiliar today without the echoes of her anklet. With a heavy heart, she glanced towards the sky. She let out a gasp on seeing the sky without a single star. Tears swelled up in her eyes and she rushed back unable to handle the shock.


She ran along the beach with the stream of tears gushing down her cheeks. She felt something prick her legs which made her stop. She had almost dismissed it as a thorn. But the shine of that object made her dig the surface of the sand only to reveal her anklets. Kinginni could not believe it. She thanked the sea for this gift on her birthday and rushed back to the spot, the anklet adorning her leg. The place echoed in rhythm to her pace as she sprinted to the corner. With a smile on her lips, she looked towards the sky in anticipation. And like God’s play, a strong wind blew the black clouds above revealing a bright twinkling star besides the moon.