Amin was an infamous thief. People dreaded him. Such was his notoriety that parents often used his name to frighten their children. One day, Amin committed a huge theft in a rich man’s house and made off with a lot of gold jewelry and cash. After this rich haul, he set off for his hideout Read more…
Vimala was a ragpicker. She was thirteen, but she had never been to school. She got up early in the morning and went about rummaging around in trash cans and garbage heaps for something useful. Vimala would collect paper scraps, old rags, plastic items and other apparently useless objects that had been thrown away. She Read more…
It was a dark, moonless night. There were very few vehicles on the road leading from Gwalior to Bhopal through the Chambal valley. A white Contessa was speeding as its headlights pierced through the darkness of the night. Mr. Praveen Joshi, a bank manager, and his close friend, Mr. Harish Bharadwaj, were in the backseat Read more…
When it was lunchtime, Jonas got in the line of food. The prison was high-security and his eyes kept darting to the corners of the walls, trying to pick up cameras and how the guards were positioned. Most of them held tasers in their hands, so that meant they either believed that tasers were good Read more…
Jonas was blindfolded, handcuffed, and dumped into a large SUV as all the soldiers got back inside the vehicle, leaving Jonas’ mother unconscious. Half an hour after they were gone, his mother twitched and called for her son in a weak voice, “Jonas…” When she did not hear a response, she tried to open her Read more…
*Ten years later* “Jonas… Jonas!!” A woman’s voice called out and a tall boy poked his head out of the car he had been working on. “Yes, mom?” “Lunch is ready and I’m starving, so hurry up!” Jonas dusted the dirt and soot off his hands. He was dressed in unclean overalls, his heterochromatic eyes Read more…
The man sat there with an aghast look on his face. He could not believe what was happening. He struggled to keep himself on his feet and stepped back a little before finding his chair and slumping on it. Was this some sort of a cruel joke? Destiny? The memories of the day flooded over Read more…
The waiting area was eerily silent except for the labored breathing of some aged folks sitting anxiously on the uncomfortable chairs. The small space was cramped with desperate people who wanted to get done with it as soon as possible. While everyone kept glancing around, tapping their feet on the smooth, polished floor, a little Read more…
The cars and other vehicles formed a beeline along the small road as the sun above shone brightly. It was a busy day, and everybody was in a hurry to reach their respective destinations. Rehan rushed out of his apartment gate and waved at one or two cabs, but each one of them seemed to Read more…
The wall clock made its presence felt with its relentless tick-tock, the only sound apart from the gentle whirring of the Xerox machines and the coffee machine that were being operated by Akash. He was working late in the office. It was 2 A.M. already, and he needed to get that presentation ready for the Read more…
