Write India: A Homecoming

The following is a short story penned by me as participation in Write India, a year long short story writing contest where popular authors set guidelines, and one writes and submits the story in accordance to it. You can check out about the contest here:

TOI Write India

This story is submitted as part of the month which is judged by Tuhin Sinha, who has written some amazing books like 'Of Love and Politics' and 'The edge of desire'. You can find his instructions below. Cool? Cool.

Write India: Of Loss and Family

The following is a short story penned by me as participation in Write India, a year long short story writing contest where popular authors set guidelines, and one writes and submits the story in accordance to it. You can check out about the contest here:

TOI Write India

This story is submitted as part of the month which is judged by Preeti Shenoy, of 'Why We Love the Way We Do' fame. While you can find the general rules of the contest on the first link, you can click below to read the author's specific guidelines. And then read the story as well. Capisce?

Write India: Penance

The fourth author as part of the Write India campaign is Ravi Subramanian. His competition was set in the modern society, and explored extramarital affairs. Read on for the short story I wrote for the same. Do leave feedback in the comments.

Write India: Waking from the Dream

The following is a short story penned by me as participation in Write India, a year long short story writing contest where popular authors set guidelines, and one writes and submits the story in accordance to it. You can check out about the contest here:

TOI Write India

This story is submitted as part of the month which is judged by Ashwin Sanghi, of The Krishna Key fame. You can find his instructions below. Cool? Cool.

DNA Out of Print: No One to Fight, No One to Die

DNA India recently invited submissions for short stories as part of their Out of Print edition. The theme for this year's competition is Erosion. Aspiring contestants, this author included were given full freedom to interpret the topic in any manner we saw fit - from the erosion of political freedom and its impact on society and culture, or erosion of relationships that lose meaning in many ways over generations, or physical erosion of the environment due to man, or even the disintegrating emotional stabilities of the human psyche.

The only rule was that the stories needed to be in English, previously unpublished, and about 2000 words in length. The following post, should you choose to read more, is my attempt submitted for this competition. You can read the winning stories of last year's editions here, and also those of the other finalists, where the theme was Choice.

Al right then, let's get on with the story, shall we?

Creative Poetry: Birds

Much of humanity's drive through the ages has been through a need to learn and understand the world around us. This has defined, and in some ways restricted who we are, as a species as well. The following poem was my way of feeling out the impact of such defining restrictions, and the ease of living without said chain and ball. Hope you like it.

Write India: A True Maratha

The first author as part of the Write India campaign is Amish. His competition was based on historic fiction, and revolved around women empowerment. Read on for the short story I wrote for the same. Do leave feedback in the comments.

Musings: Walking the Cross-Cultural Tight Rope

This is to be the first of hopefully many pieces of my Office Diaries section. I suppose it is an effort to convince myself I am one of the evil minions now - part of multiple despised guilds, including but not restricted to 'office goers' and 'working class'. Office life, as it is, is often about moderation. You want to be appropriate. Except when you end up doing that too much, to your own detriment. Read on to know how.

Musings: Fear and Trust

When we face our fears, we crave support, of those we trust. I write of darkness, and fear, and trust here.

Creative Poetry: Future Untold

Okay this is one of those small gems that emerge from a night of introspection and loneliness. Either genius, or rationalisation, either way, it makes me smile every time I read it. The basic question being, just because we have found Utopia, does it mean, everything is perfect? Of course, there are many ways to represent this problem - but as I might have mentioned, I used to be sappy. Very sappy.

Like VERY. Seriously. Read it, if you don't believe me.

Creative Poetry: Thumka

Honestly, this one is a mystery. I know where the inspiration came from, because I was reminded, but not the context. Still, a good twist is never a bad idea. Read on.

Creative Poetry: Emerald

Green, as it happens is considered to be a sign of life, fertility and at the same time associated with negative connotations such as envy or sickness. So if I were to explore where all the concept of green could go, we would read this poem right here. All yours.

Creative Poetry: Poetry in Beauty

You know when you see this woman, and you get the breath knocked out of you? When you are mesmerised by her beauty, but when people ask you what you found beautiful, you struggle to describe - because all you can say sounds like poetry? Here's what happened to me.

Creative Fiction: For A Promise

For a person who loves Epic Fantasy and other fantastical elements, it is amazing how I have not actually written much in the genre. Which makes this piece very special to me. I sort of dreamed parts of this, and when I woke up, I sat down with writing it. Hope you like it too.

Creative Poetry: Rose Thorn

I have always been a negative person. Let me just say this. I do agree completely with this poem, even now, even as I recognise the negativity here. Let's face it, I am an amateur at this, not like all the lit graduates who can spin yarns and poems at whim, and completely rock them too. My poems tend to be straightforward and on the nose, while they manage to bring subtle elements you never even thought existed. Which should provide some context to this poem. Read on.

Creative Poetry: Life

Here's a simple exercise. Define life, or describe it, in one word. Not simple is it? Well, how about if I asked you to list all words you think associated itself with life. What all words can you think of that remind you of life when you hear them? Here is an attempt I made at this exercise.

Creative Poetry: Ecstasy - Soul

There are poems about love, and life, and sex. Then there are poems about the soul, that transcend all things else - and yet, need them to express themselves. This is one of those works.

Creative Fiction: Jilting Aphorisms, Yearning Abstractions.

Where to start... this specific piece is very close to my heart. This is mainly because it is the culmination of one of the biggest phases of change in my writing style. This is perhaps where I came to terms with the relationship between structural rules and the freedom to follow my own rules. It also was a gift, and so designed to bring forth meaning. And lastly, it was also my first attempt to write in the form of children's tales, full with tune and flow. Have a good time with this one, folks.

Creative Fiction: Sex. Trust.

I wonder if the people involved here remember this piece. Again, very different to my normal style of writing because I was experimenting with my form, but still, overwhelming in its symbolism. I can read Freud all over this. And Nietzsche. And a couple of others. Read on.

Creative Poetry: I. You. It.

Oh my. This is a very interesting poem, given the time it was written. So the allusion is quite naked here (see what I did there?), and free for all to see. But here's the thing, it was written before I had any experience in the matter. Which would make this piece juxtaposed with the expectation of intimacy. Read on, have fun. Maybe I will write on the matter again.