The Desert…

There comes a time when you realize that you will not last the distance; that your lungs will explode before the last lap; that you will go ...

Holding On…

I will not let go. Not yet. I have held on long enough now and can’t let go with just a plaintive whimper. I have become accustomed to th...

मेरी मीरा तुम (Meri Meera Tum)

क्षणिक मृत्यु का वरदान तुम्हारा भाग्य कब था ? तुम्हें तो प्रत्येक पल सहस्रों बार मरना था किसी अविरल वेग संग अनायस विलुप्त होना शायद सौभाग्य...

Foodie Files – Paya Masala (Goat’s Feet)

Paya essentially refers to the trotters or feet of a cow, goat or lamb and is a dish which was originally brought to the sub-continent by ...

The Marked Territory

She woke up feeling lost and her head hurt from previous night. It was just as much she could take. The pangs of pain on her bottom felt rel...

A Day’s Work | A Night’s Sleep

I know people who have trouble sleeping. People who live in plush houses in serene neighborhoods, have comfortable beds, ample food, secure ...

Achchaa Hai…

सलीब अपने सर उठा चलना कहाँ मुझे रास था तेरे जूनून की चादर से मगर फिर भी यह हल्का है मेरे सर पर छत ना सही, बे-शक़ फाका-मस्ती ही सही आज तेरी ...

Zara Sa Faaslaa…

कुछ देर शब और जला अभी तो सिर्फ़ आग़ाज़ है  चाँद कुछ और सुलगा नींद अभी नाराज़ है कहाँ मैं मयसर अभी कहाँ कोई सुरूर है कुछ खामोशी है मगर कुछ ...

The Circle

The circle loops back again. It repeats itself every few days and I am beginning to get tired of it now. It’s time to follow a tangent and ...

Sun or Moon

“Sun or Moon?”, she questioned. “Sun, I guess” I quipped “Why?” she demanded “Because, Sun is real and Moon is artificial, just a fa...

Office Office

The picture below is an actual board at sector 126, Noida that I encounter daily on my trip to office. Added the last row to it. Of course, ...

Possessed

He gave her chills, scared the life out of her. He swerved and steered and controlled her being like no other. He tormented her, left bruise...

The Ghost

She looked out of the window. The Sun had not set as yet but the evening had already splashed the skies with a sharp violet tinge mixed with...

The Silence

Happiness is a brazen wench. It needs to be paid to seek its company. Most often, it leaves you destitute, addicted and wanting for more. T...

The Vagabond

I walked a fair distance today, raking up leaves strewn all over yesteryears. The silent Sun bore my witness as I crossed the railway tracks...

The Exit Door

All along I was focused on finding a way to reach you. I walked through the dunes, braved the floods, survived the bruises of the woods and ...

One Of These Days…

I will burn the walls and break down those doors you have been hiding behind. I will set fire to the tethers and kick the ash with my feet a...

Farewell 2013…

As I sit and look back at the year 2013, I see a stark similarity between it and 2012. Both these years have been kind to me in their own wa...

Till We Meet Again

I saw you standing there waiting a little longer as I turned round the corner. I stopped behind the wall and watched you wiping that lone te...

The Convenient Truth

I would have told you the truth but you wouldn’t have believed me. Maybe you would have thrown up on my face because of its bitter aftertast...

Foodie Files – Smoked Whitefish Salad

Smoking is the process of flavoring, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to the smoke from burning or smoldering plant materials, mo...

The Creature

I could hear the clock tick. Seconds wasted, dripping on the wet floor. I sat back and looked blankly at the static screen. Perhaps the chan...

Foodie Files – K..K..K...Keema, Kaleji, Kishmish & Korn…

A simple recipe but demands some patience and precision with the order of spices and ingredients. Used a pound of Kaleji (Lamb Liver) and ...

Closure…if at all

New Delhi, Friday September 13, 2013.  The Saket district court in Delhi court finally handed out a death sentence to unemployed Mukesh Sin...

Justice…Really?

I begin with a question here “Once we capture a wild beast who has tasted blood, should we kill it, keep it captive in a cage or should we ...

Foodie Files – Onion Smothered Grilled Mackerel

Perhaps it isn’t such a good idea to follow one Mackerel post after the other but I guess it wasn’t such a bad idea to finish my pack of Mac...

Foodie Files – Pan Seared Mackerel with Fries

The authors of The Cambridge Economic History of Europe remarked “There are more references to stinking mackerel in English literature than...

Chennai Express (2013) – Derailed

Chennai Express for most of its length appears to be a badly done spoof of ‘DDLJ’ and is probably only matched by ‘Guddu’ for Shah Rukh’s wo...

The Otiose Undertaking

Finally, I see the futility of it all. I kept pouring myself out hoping that in due course, over years maybe I will empty myself and move on...

Foodie Files – Lamb Chops, the Primal Way

Don’t ask me where and how I landed on this primitive recipe. Let’s say a ghost of a Mughal era chef slipped this over in my sleep. This was...

Adding Colors…

Now this is a little photograph restoration Photoshop project that I took up and though it is not something unique but having accomplished t...

Inamorata…

The days are just stop gap pauses, time to exhale. What I need is more, more access to the unknown, opening locks to the doors lost deeper w...