The morning of December 26, 2004, began like countless others for Ravi Krishnan. He arrived early at the All India Radio studio in Chennai, his shirt neatly ironed, his satchel carrying nothing but his lunch and the notebook he never filled. He was a sound engineer, not a broadcaster, and he preferred it that way. Read more…

Meghana was excited. She was going on a picnic with her cousins the following day. Ten-year-old Meghana was obsessed with everything foreign. Lately, she had become pretty conceited as well. She had little regard for Indian culture. Her mother had often tried to knock some sense into her but to no avail. ♦♦♦ The next Read more…

Getting drenched in the rain is definitely not my way of enjoying it. Standing by the window with a hot cup of coffee and watching the rain splashing down is. Yet, I couldn’t help getting drenched that day. It began as a small drizzle, and it picked up the moment I walked into Chandu’s cycle Read more…

‘It’s going to be a very dull life in a village, after living in Goa,’ said Rakesh. His younger brother, Ravi, and their visiting cousin, Prashant, nodded in agreement. Rakesh and Ravi’s mother had contracted measles, so she had decided to send the three boys away to her vacant old house in a small village. Read more…

The postman loudly announced the arrival of fresh mail. Shreya was on her feet immediately. She brought the letter to her mother and asked her to read it. Once she did, Shreya and her mother found the news rather disconcerting. Shreya’s aunt was coming over with her husband and twins. She lived in Mumbai and Read more…

Raju’s mother was a simple woman. She slaved away in a factory all day so she could send her son to a good school. Her husband had died when their boy was just two years old. As a result, she was always struggling to make ends meet. The poor lady hoped that her son would Read more…

Veena was a bright eighth grader. She was jovial, lively, and loved to joke and play pranks on others. She was also fond of dogs. All her friends’ dogs adored Veena and got very animated when she visited them. When she romped with the dogs, they would create a racket and have loads of fun. Read more…

Gemma was Nisha’s dearest friend. Nisha had loved Gemma since the moment she had seen her. Gemma had sparkling blue eyes, which had a tenderness about them. She was a French girl who had come to India with her grandfather. Her parents were divorced. Unfortunately, Gemma hardly meant anything to them. The only person whom Read more…

The sun set in the horizon as the sky turned yellowish. There was still a large crowd waiting patiently in the queue to get a glimpse of the Lord. There were fathers carrying their kids on their shoulders, mothers trying to soothe their irritated babies, and others just rushing in. Ranji sat atop a stone Read more…

‘Nargis, it’s five! The customers will start flocking to the brother. Why aren’t you dolled up yet?’ yelled Jyoti, the Madam. ‘I’m tired of putting up with you.’ It was evening, a time when her regular customers visited the brothel. As always, Jyoti wanted all the girls to be at their attractive best. She ran Read more…