A Bowl of Elusive

Akriti shivered a little as a gust of Ryan's warm breath hit the back of her neck. She had no clothes on. And neither did he. The room was cold and every touch was magnified in impact as Ryan's inquisitive hands explored Akriti's  delicate curves. He alternated between his fingers and his palm, moving them in a symphony of sorts over her naked and thirsty skin. And as he did so he buried his face into her luscious bunch of hair and sniffed in the perfume in it. His heartbeat rushed as he felt her back touching his bare body. He placed a light kiss on her head, and then another one. Even in the lust of that moment, there was a certain wide eyed honesty in Ryan's movements that was making Akriti go weak in her knees. And that was so unlike her. You see Akriti wasn't born yesterday. She'd seen her share of broken relationships and lying men to trust someone so easily, and yet, here she was, hours after meeting this guy, in his arms, feeling vulnerable an...

I have been feeling lonely lately. Let me rephrase that: I have been pretty lonely lately. And this isn't just any loneliness, it's existential loneliness. In simple words, I've been feeling like I have no one and nothing to live for. Just today, after many days of hectic work, I found some time to sit back and relax, and I found myself searching for the purpose of life - on YouTube, like the lost millennial that I am. I came across some videos by Sadhguru and the like, but they were way too vague for my taste. You see, my question isn't existential or figurative, its more literal. I am looking for a reason to live, and I don't see one. I am just curious to know, what do people live for? What is the whole purpose of us being here? See, I have always been a bit of a skeptic, never bought into the concept of a deity or a higher power. And in the last few years, I lost most of the people I felt connected to. Wasn't all to Death, so don't be sorry for me....

I was returning to Mumbai after having lived in Singapore for nearly seven years. The connecting flight through Chennai was late by two hours, so I was listlessly wandering around the airport, browsing through the plethora of overpriced food and merchandise at the outlets, when I noticed her, a blast from my past. A vaguely familiar face, bright and shimmery, crimson lips so full of life. The years had no effect on her appearance, Sumiran looked just like she had the day I first set eyes on her. You know the kind of beauty that renders you breathless? That’s what Sumiran was like. And it wasn’t just the flawless skin or the golden complexion, it was her eyes and the way they nestled on that elusive form. I took a deep breath and changed my course to avoid bumping into her, praying she didn’t notice me. I know what you’re thinking. No, she wasn’t an ex. But we did go way back. And the history we shared wasn’t the most savory one. Back in 2006, Shreya, my girlfriend had complained...

Jab bhi tujhe dekhoon, ankhon mein fariyaad si rehti hai, Hazaron khwahishen hoti hai, aur ek muraad si rehti hai, Tujhe maangoon ya tujhme kho jaaoon yahi sochta rehta hoon, Kyun na jane dhadakte dil ko teri firaaq si rehti hai. Teri berukhi ke charche bhi kar chuka aur misaal bhi de di, Shabdon mein likha dil ki majboori ko, aur labon se guhaar bhi de di, Bas tu kahin kisi ke dhyaan mein baitha hai aise, ki meri dua tujh tak pahunchti hi nahi, Dekh na kaise dil aaj zakhmi hai mera, aur uski pukaar tujh tak pahunchti hi nahi. Ab ummeedon ke jharokhon se jhaankte hai mere armaan kaee, Tere khwaabon ke idgaah mein goonjte hain mere azaan kaee, Aks-e-aarzoo ko tu parakh le ik baar, shayad samajh aayega tujhe, Kitne sooni, kitni banjar reh jaye tere bina ye dil, ki inme koi shaqs na reh paye kabhi. Main har roz teri aane ke intezaar mein raahein taakta hoon, Hawa se teri khabar poochta hoon, fiza se teri khairiyat maangta hoon, Musaafir tu bhi malaal k...

Back in 1998, my father used to work for a company called IMFA (Indian Metal Ferro Alloys Limited), as a Security Supervisor at their ICCL campus. ICCL stands for Indian Charge Chrome Limited. Charge chrome of Ferro-Chrome (FeCr) is an alloy of Iron and Chromium with 50% to 70% chromium content. Ferro-Chrome is used in the production of stainless steel and is usually more expensive than silver. The ICCL campus, being a production unit, usually had heaps of Ferro-Chrome store in the open which needed security. Usually, thieves would strike a deal with the security personnel and steal the alloy from the company premises, but my father brought their operation to a halt when he joined. There was even an attempt on his life due to this, which he escaped narrowly.  So, the ICCL factory had this tall chimney kind of a thing which would usually be on fire. It was quite a sight. This one time, my father, my uncle and I were taking a stroll in the colony premises which were adjacent...

My dear readers, I managed to write yet another one of these. This is the sixth chapter of the Siddhant-Ishika story, and I think you’re fed up with it by now. Still, the story continues. Here are the links to the earlier episodes: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 . I would suggest that you go back, read the earlier chapter, if you haven’t already done it and then come back to find out what happened next. Ishika and Siddhant had reached an impasse. Like any great story, theirs had a big conflict in the plot and yet, they weren’t fighting about it. They were calm. A certain routine had set in between them. They kept in touch, neither of them going back on their stance. Ishika, still pining for the man she couldn’t have and Siddhant pining for Ishika, it was like a neatly tied bow tie where Ishika and Siddhant were two ends of the leaf.  More than a month had passed since they first met and Ishika had gone back to her hometown for a week, during which she cou...

In one of Shah Rukh Khan's older interviews, he said, "I am Allah's chosen one." Was that arrogance? Or was it just confidence? He did go on to become a star. I am not sure how important a role the fact that he considered himself special played in his stardom, but I'd like to believe that it was one of the factors. When I was five years old, I was admitted to a nursery near our place. I was named Abhishek initially. During the roll call, I realized that I was the eighth Abhishek in my class. The obscurity didn't sit well with me. So, I threw a hissy fit when I got home and forced my father to get my name changed to Ian (which was my nickname) on the school register. Ever since, that was something I felt special about, my name, which isn't very common in India. I also felt special about my height because all through school, I was the tallest kid in class. Even with the various hardships that I faced in my young life, I never stopped believing that I ...