Scribbles

Ram stood at the edge of the cliff, gazing out into distance, imagining outline of his palace which wasn't even visible from this far. Fourteen years had passed since he was near to his  favorite  place on earth, his home, Ayodhdhya. He felt he could almost make out the shining, flowing waters of Sarayu river. It wasn't possible, he knew, as there was barely any moonlight to reflect. It was a night before Amavasya, New moon, and it was pitch dark. That was one of the reasons why they had to halt on this hill. Tomorrow it would be even darker. He wished their journey to Ayodhdhya had finished around full moon so that his home would've been visible with all it's might and glory. He wasn't a superstitious man but resented coming home in dark. It seemed a dark shadow of past fourteen years was accompanying him into his new life. He prayed to Surya, the Sun, God of light to shine his way home. They would have to start early in the morning and pass through villages outsid...

Took only a spark And the wind flowing Soon burned the bark And flames were roaring News spread faster than wildfire. By the time I had finished dinner, almost all the college going boys in surrounding area knew that two beautiful girls have accosted us during bus ride home. If you have read " Study Night ", you know that my friends gather every night at my home to study. Today I was surprised to find that my friends had come much earlier along with a few casual acquaintances. The hall was cramped and it was impossible for us to stretch in our usual manner to study. All the boys were bursting with excitement and carried out loud and vague conversations until my parents went to sleep on the terrace.  Bursting with glee Sought an opening Wings finally free Rose higher flapping Immediately, I was regaled with stories and anecdotes of what people had seen, heard or talked about. It turned out that these two girls were among the most popular and sought after girls. They did study ...

"Hey, please save a seat for us. We'll just be back." This simple sentence in Gujarati had magical effect on both of us. A gigantic balloon had placed itself in our chest and was swelling with pleasant warmth. Appu looked at me and I saw my happiness reflected in his eyes. Our cheeks were straining under continuous smile. I knew Appu was wondering the same thing "Was this real? Did these two beautiful girls really come up to us in an empty bus and asked to save a seat for them?"  We could've dismissed it as a prank but we knew neither us nor our friends had the imagination to pull it through. Appu told that this was our lucky day and I agreed. I was internally cursing that I hadn't realized how special the day was until now. We had squandered away so many hours in listening to middle aged men drone on about laws of physics and chemical formulas. We had walked up and down the four storied college building for practicals and lectures. We were discussing su...

It was after dinner when my parents were going to sleep on terrace owing to the summer heat and I was preparing to study in the hall. My friends were to come to study with me at home and I had just collected all books required for today and carried them to sofa. I went to get the exam schedule from my trouser pocket and pulled the shirt hanging on top of the trouser on the rack. I took the shirt to put it among clothes to be washed when my hand felt something in it's pocket. I remembered the note she had slipped in and asked me to read later.  I pulled the folded paper from shirt pocket and carried it with me to the sofa. Mom and Dad went to sleep instructing me to close the door properly once I was done studying and my friends were gone. I assured them I would and they went upstairs to terrace. I slowly unfolded the paper, in all honesty, not knowing what to expect. The folded paper turned out to be four pages torn from the middle of a notebook, a combined set of four pages, every...